Sheep : ELLIOTTDALE

Origin: Tasmania, Australia

Australian Status:

Australian Population: Ewes: 300 (2017)

Distribution:

History:

Breed traits:

The Elliottdale was developed at the Elliott Research Station in Tasmania and is a dual purpose sheep although it was originally bred for carpet wool. The rams may be horned or polled and when mature, generally weigh around 70kg. The ewes are always polled and weigh in a little smaller at around 58kg. The background of the Elliottdale is based on a carpet wool carrying Romney ram. At each shearing, and due to the wool length, there are two per year; the sheep cut around 6.0 - 8.0kg of wool. The wool has a fibre diameter of 38-40 microns and a long staple length of 120-150mm.

The breed was developed in the 1960's and early 70's and was commercialised in 1976, when the Australian Carpet Wool Industry was established. The effect of the Elliottdale gene (El) is similar to that of the Drysdale, Tukidale and to a lesser degree, the Carpetmaster (N series genes) in the Romney breed, and is at a different locus on the chromosome. The El gene is semi-dominant, allowing homozygous lambs to be identified at birth, and is not associated with the gene for horns.

The Elliottdale Project was terminated in 1993 and the Research Station became a Dairy Research Facility. Mr Carl Terrey, a research worker and member of the Elliottdale Research team bought several of the sheep and continues to breed them on his stud to this day. When the flock was at the Elliott Research Station it was performance recorded, and breeding indices were developed by geneticists for both wool and meat. Although Mr Terrey does not have the same resources as the Research Station, he has continued to use traditional stud phenotypic selection, with an emphasis on conformation and carcase market suitability, as this is where the economics of the breeding enterprise is based today.

Mr Terrey's attention to the genetics of the breed has been fortunate as he has kept the breed alive. There are currently only two stud Elliottdale flocks left.

Uses: Carpet wool, Meat

Organisation: No organisation

Additional Notes:

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