The Corriedale is a New Zealand
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
. It was bred from about 1882 in the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
by James Little, who
cross-bred
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to mai ...
Merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
and
Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australia and to many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. In 2021 it was reported from twenty-five countries, and the total population was estimated at just over 5 million.
History
The Corriedale was developed in the latter part of the nineteenth century by
cross-breeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
Merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
and
Lincoln Longwool sheep, with the aim of producing sheep with grazing requirements intermediate between the lush lowlands which suited the British breeds and the sparse dry grazing preferred by the Merino.
The first to attempt this was James Little, who had come to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 1863, and had previously tried to cross-breed Merinos with British
Romney stock. At the Corriedale estate in
North Otago
North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for gli ...
, where he was manager, he then attempted to produce a Lincoln-Merino cross, but the results were unsatisfactory. At about the same time
William Davidson William or Bill Davidson may refer to:
Businessmen
* Bill Davidson (businessman) (1922–2009), Michigan businessman and sports team owner
** William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, named in honor of Bill Davidson
* William Davidson ...
, manager of The Levels, an estate in
South Canterbury
South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southe ...
, began similar work using Lincoln rams on medium-wool Merino ewes; the resulting sheep became the foundation stock for the Corriedale breed.
In the following decade two Australian breeders – Corbett of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
in 1882, and MacKinnon in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
in 1888 – also did work with the same aim. In both Australia and New Zealand there was some admixture of Romney (for better conformation) and
Border Leicester
The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep.
It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-produci ...
(for better rate of growth). Stock from The Levels was imported to Australia from 1911.
In New Zealand the Corriedale could from 1903 be registered as an "Inbred Half-Bred" in an appendix to the
flock-book
A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...
of the
New Zealand Sheepbreeders' Association. A
breed association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...
was formed in 1910, and in 1911 the name "Corriedale" was officially recognised; the first flock-book for the breed was published in 1924. In Australia a flock-book was established in 1922.
Within a few years the Corriedale was exported a number of countries, and
breeders' association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...
s were established many of them, including some European and South American countries, South Africa and the United States of America. It became one of the most numerous sheep breeds worldwide. In
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in 1970 the population was estimated at about 8.5 million, or about half the national herd. In 2021 Uruguay reported about 2.75 million head, while Chile and Peru each reported well over a million. In 2016 the number in New Zealand was estimated to be over 3 million.
Polwarth and Corriedale are the principal sheep breeds reared on the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
.
The Broomfield Corriedale was
selectively bred
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ma ...
from the original Corriedale stock for greater resistance to
foot-rot. Among the breeds that derive in part from the Corriedale are: the
Borderdale of New Zealand (Corriedale x
Border Leicester
The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep.
It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-produci ...
); the
China Semi-Finewool (Corriedale x
Mongolian); the
Corino of Argentina (Corriedale x Merino); the
Cormo of Tasmania (Corriedale x Tasmanian Merino); the
Cormo Argentino, developed in Argentina from the Cormo; the Australian
Gromark (Corriedale x Border Leicester); the
Linchuan
Linchuan District () is one of two districts of the city of Fuzhou, Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang a ...
of
Jiangxi Province
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...
, China (Corriedale/Romney x local finewools); the Australian
Siromeat; the American
Targhee; the
Warhill of Arizona, USA, and the Argentinian
Junin derived from it.
Corriedale and
Ryeland were used to transmit the
polled gene in the development of the Australian
Poll Dorset
The Poll Dorset, a short-wool, meat-producing sheep, was developed in Australia between 1937 and 1954 with the aim of breeding a true Dorset type sheep without horns. The poll gene was introduced into Dorset Horn flocks from two other polled bre ...
.
A number of breeds have "Corriedale" or "Koridel" in the breed name, but are not directly derived from the original stock; rather, they have been developed using a similar pattern of cross-breeding. Among these are the
Askanian Corriedale of Ukraine, cross-bred from British longwool sheep and local
Askanian stock; the
Bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...
or Commercial Corriedale, bred in Australia from about 1909; the
Canadian Corriedale; the
Kazakh Corriedale, bred in Kazakhstan from the
Kazakh Finewool and British longwool stock; The Armenian
Koridel; the
North Caucasus Mutton-Wool, derived from crosses between the
Stavropol
Stavropol (; rus, Ставрополь, p=ˈstavrəpəlʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities.
It was known as ...
and the Lincoln Longwool; the
Polish Corriedale; the
Poznań Corriedale; the
Soviet Mutton-Wool or Mountain Koridel; and the
Tyan Shan.
Characteristics
The Corriedale has a long life span and is hardy and evenly balanced all over the body. Corriedales are docile, easy care mothers, with high fertility. They adapt well to a wide range of climate conditions. They are large framed and plain bodied, polled (hornless) and have a broad body.
Use
Ewe fleeces weigh some , with a staple length of and a fibre diameter of ,
Bradford count 56/50s.
References
External links
Australian Corriedale Association
{{Sheep breeds of Australia and New Zealand
Sheep breeds originating in Australia
Sheep breeds originating in New Zealand
Sheep breeds