What We Do

The Fibre Lab offers fibre Testing Services for Cashmere, Wool, Mohair, Alpaca, Llama, Guanaco and Vicuña

Alpaca Fleece Samples
Fleece Samples

We specialise in the fibre testing of individual animals, allowing owners to make informed decisions regarding their animal breeding programs.

The Fibre Lab can provide:

OFDA 100 Microscope at The Fibre Lab
The OFDA 100
  • Fine fibre evaluation services using the OFDA 100 (Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser)
  • Interpretation of results
  • Consultancy and breeding advice
  • Talks and presentations

Fibre Test Descriptions and Prices

Send your samples to The Fibre Lab at the address shown in the sidebar.

Samples from each animal should be at least 1g or preferably more – a good sized handful please!  See the page on How to take Samples for further guidance.

When sending samples to The Fibre Lab, please specify the tests you require and calculate the cost based on the table below.

Prices as charged for samples received from 1st December 2022:

Test
(click for detailed description)
What you get Cost per sample (for 1-10 samples) Cost per sample (for 10+ samples) Suitable for
Mean Fibre Diameter Mean Fibre Diameter (µm)
Standard Deviation (µm)
Coefficient of Variation (%)
Sample Size
Comfort Factor
Histogram in 2µm bins
£18.00 £17.00 Cashmere, wool, mohair, alpaca, llama, guanaco, vicuña
Mean Fibre Diameter & Medullation Mean Fibre Diameter Test (as above)
The number of fibres in 10,000 (10k) that are considered Objectionable (kemp fibres)
The number of Flat Fibres (medulla has collapsed) and the number of Medullated Fibres
£20.00 £19.00 This test is suitable for white fibres only
wool, mohair, cashmere
Mean Fibre Diameter & Mean Fibre Curvature Mean Fibre Diameter Test (as above)
The Mean Curvature in degrees per Millimetre (deg/mm)
The Standard Deviation of the Mean Curvature
£20.00 £19.00 Cashmere, wool, mohair, alpaca, llama, guanaco, vicuña
Mean Fibre Diameter, Medullation & Curvature Mean Fibre Diameter Test (as above)
Medullation Test (as above)
Mean Fibre Curvature Test (as above)
£25.00 £24.00 This test is suitable for white fibres only
wool, mohair, cashmere
Clean Yield (single coated animals) The Percentage of Clean Fibre left after the grease (suint), soil, sand and vegetable matter has been removed £25.00 £24.00 Wool, mohair & alpaca
Dehaired Yield (double coated animals) The Percentage of Undercoat Fibre in the sample after the guardhair oil, sand and vegetable matter has been removed

£30.00

£30.00 Cashmere, llama, guanaco, vicuña
EFFN cashmere distribution The Mean Fibre Diameter, Number of Fibres and Percentages of Fibres in specified fibre diameter groups are returned £25.00 £25.00 Cashmere, wool, mohair, alpaca, llama, guanaco, vicuña
Staple Length The relaxed length of the fibre (mm) as taken from the animal £10.00 £10.00 Cashmere, wool, mohair, alpaca, llama, guanaco, vicuña
Drawn Length The fibres are sorted by hand into a fibre length diagram and the Maximum, Minimum and Median (mm) fibre lengths are recorded £30.00 £30.00 Cashmere, wool, mohair, alpaca, llama, guanaco, vicuña

If you require further information, please email us at the address below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.