The Comeback is a type of

domestic 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 ...

originating in Australia.''The Land Stock Types'', Rural Press, North Richmond, NSW This type of sheep results from crossbreds produced by British Longwool sheep and

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 ...

s being mated back to Merinos. This cross is made to achieve a finer, better style of wool. Comeback style wool is also produced by

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 chemica ...

Cormo The Cormo is an Australian breed of sheep developed in Tasmania by crossing Corriedale rams with superfine Saxon Merino ewes in the early 1960s. The name Cormo is derived from the names of two of the parent breeds, Corriedale and Merino. The bree ...

and Polwarth sheep and they may prove easier to breed than Comebacks.Sheep breed compendium, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010 The Comeback sheep are raised for meat and their fine

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

Characteristics

The staple length of the bulky wool is with an average diameter of 21 to 25

microns The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer ( American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Un ...

.Preparation of Australian Wool Clips, Code of Practice 2010-2012, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010 The Comeback is well adapted to high rainfall districts in Australia. Though they are similar to Merino, this breed does not have neck folds. Both sexes are either horned or polled (hornless). The average weight of mature rams is and of ewes is . At birth, ewes and rams both weigh on average.

Production

The usual method of producing Comeback Sheep is first to mate a longwool ram with a Merino ewe. When the female progeny are sufficiently mature, they are mated to a Merino ram, and this produces the Comeback Sheep. However, although these hybrid sheep may be superior than their true bred ancestors, they are unsuitable for mating to each other. If a Merino ram is used the offspring will have fine wool but probably a smaller frame. Crossing the Comeback Sheep with a longwool breed, will produce progeny that is three-quarter bred. An alternative to this tricky situation may be to choose a

Polwarth Sheep Polwarth is a breed of sheep that was developed in Victoria (Australia) during 1880. They were of one-quarter Lincoln and three-quarters Merino bloodlines. They are large, predominantly polled sheep with long, soft, quite fine wool and produce ...

instead of a Comeback Sheep as they both have a similar type of wool.

References

{{Sheep breeds of Australia and New Zealand Sheep breeds originating in Australia Sheep breeds