Determination of hair follicle characteristics, density and activity of Iranian cashmere goat breeds

This experiment was conducted to identify some aspects of follicle characteristics and the extent of follicle inactivity of cashmere goat breeds kept in different provinces of Iran. A total of 212 male and female cashmere goats of different age from five breeds of cashmere goats were studied. To determine follicle characteristics and the percentage of follicle inactivity, samples of skin were taken from the left midside of animals. The overall averages for males and females were 11.4 and 10.5 for secondary to primary follicle (S/P) ratio; 2.9 and 2.7 for primary follicle density; 31.1 and 30.3 for secondary follicle density; 34.1 and 33.0 for total primary plus secondary follicle density; 21.7 and 22.4 for percentage of inactive secondary follicles. Significant differences were found in S/P ratio, follicle density and activity between the goats. Large variations existed between individual goats in the percentage of inactive secondary follicles ranging from 8% to 70%.