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All of our Corriedale breeding stock had lovely fleece and were structurally correct. We selected our sheep primarily for soft, lustrous wool that had a bold crimp style and was consistent from front to rear. Then we looked for large, strong bodies with size and scale. For those of you in the show ring, we did not and would not have crossed our sheep with Columbias (as is still so common) just to get that really long bodied, long necked "show sheep" look that you see at the top of the class more often than not. When we showed under a judge that really counted wool for 60% of the score, we did very well. Since we were trying to keep our flock of Corriedale and Corriedale crosses small, choosing which sheep to offer for sale was always an excruciating experience. |
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The Corriedale breed evolved in New Zealand in the late 1800s' and was brought into Wyoming in 1914. They were bred in an effort to develop a dual purpose animal with good meat characteristics as well as commercial wool production. This was done by crossing Merino ewes with Lincoln rams. The Merino is a small animal, known for it's wool production. It's fleece is quite fine and soft, and the staple length is only 2-3 inches. On the other hand, the Lincoln is referred to as the world's largest breed of sheep with rams weighing from 250 to 350 pounds and ewes weighing between 200 and 250 pounds. The Lincoln has a heavy, coarse fleece with a long staple length of 8-15 inches. Crossbreeding these two provided a sheep with a large frame capable of producing heavy carcases of lamb, while also producing a beautiful soft fleece with length and handle that is ideal for handspinners. Mature Corriedale rams should weigh from 250 to 300 pounds, while the ewes should weigh from 150 to 180 pounds. |
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Corriedales
have a bright medium grade fleece. The fleeces will weigh from 10-17 pounds
with 4-6 inch staple length. The wool has a spinning
count of 56' to 58's. Handspinners love the Corriedale's lustrous
fleece. It is easy to spin and is soft enough to wear next to the skin.
The crimp is well defined and has quite a bit of elasticity. They
are able to adapt to and exist in such a wide range of climatic conditions
that they are now established in over 20 countries. The Corriedale is the second most numerous sheep breed in the world after Merinos.
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Corriedales
are docile animals and easy to care for. They usually twin and are
excellent mothers. Corriedales are a popular breed to raise because
they give so many options in marketing. Being a dual purpose breed
they are able to meet demands in both the meat and wool markets. Corriedale
lambs are leaner than those sired by meat breeds because their wool
producing ability limits obesity. Therefore you get a higher yielding,
leaner cut that is lower in cholesterol than beef. We felt that our lambs
were prime for butcher in the fall when they weigh approximately 150
pounds. This gives a better meat to bone ratio yet it is still lean.
You can expect a return exceeding 50% of live weight.
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