The morphological and histological features of the skin and wool cover of sheep as the basis for the quality of fur sheep pelts have been studied. The most important properties of sheep pelts (uniformity, thinness and density of wool) are provide the possibility of producing high-quality fur semi-finished products from them. However, the features of the histostructure of fine-wool sheep determine the low mechanical strength of the “facial” layer of skin. As a result, the “front” layer during processing often cracks to the upper border of the reticular layer or even peels off from the latter, making the sheep pelt unsuitable for use on fur products. These defects in fur practice are called “cracking” and “peeling” of the facial layer. They are mainly peculiar to sheep pelts of fine-wooled sheep. In these animals due to the high density and tone of the coat, the roots and hair follicles, root vaginas, secretory departments, excretory ducts of the glands and other structures occupy a significant share of the volume in the thickness of the Pilar layer (up to 25–30 %). The share of fibrous structures remains less volume, and these structures themselves are relatively weakly developed, located loosely and loosely intertwined with each other. The accumulations of fat cells that occur here also cannot be attributed to skin-strengthening elements. In fine-fleece sheep the pilar layer is on average 60 % of the thickness of the dermis. Therefore, more than half of its thickness is a weakened zone. The strength of the “front” layer is not the same in different fine-wool breeds of sheep and in different animals within the breed. For example, the average breaking load for cod of the “front” layer in Soviet Merino pelts is 1,25 kg, and in Precoce is 2,49 kg.
