Untreated hay and two hays treated with formaldehyde (HCHO) were fed to penned Romney male sheep and live‐weight change and wool growth measured. The hays were fed at energy intakes approximating to maintenance (MP) and 50% of maintenance (LP), with and without intraperitoneal supplementation with d‐l methionine (2.4 g/sheep/2 days). There was a small live‐weight loss at MP and a larger live‐weight loss at LP. Formaldehyde treatment and methionine supplementation caused small but significant reductions in the rate of live‐weight loss. In the absence of methionine supplementation, wool growth rate and fibre diameter were not increased by HCHO treatment of the hay. Both parameters were increased by methionine supplementation and by increasing energy intake (P < 0.001). The mean responses to methionine supplementation were 2.4 and 1.9 g wool/day at LP and MP respectively. The wool growth response to methionine was not influenced by the type of hay fed at LP, but at MP the response was greater on HCHO‐treated than on untreated hay. Irrespective of treatment, approximately 57% of the nutritionally induced changes in wool growth were attributable to changes in cross‐sectional area. Due to seasonal effects, wool growth rate and fibre diameter declined with time. There was a delay of 3 weeks between the application of the nutritional treatments and the appearance of the wool growth response characteristic of each treatment. During a 3‐week period after treatment ceased there were significant residual effects of previous nutrition on wool growth rate and fibre diameter.
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T. N. Barry (1973) studied this question.