Breed History

Establishment of the Breed

James Little is usually given credit for establishing the Corriedale breed. He was originally the manager of the Corriedale Estate at Otaga, on the South Island of New Zealand, but moved to the Allendale Estate on the North Island in 1878. The development of the breed was initiated in the 1860’s. Other foundation breeders who made significant contributions are C.H. Ensor and W. S. Davidson, who managed the New Zealand and Australian Land Co.

The Corriedale is an in-bred half-breed with Merino on the dam’s side and the English Lincoln longwool on the sire’s side. The name Corriedale was chosen to be the proper name for the breed in 1902. The New Zealand Sheep Breeders Association began publishing Corriedale pedigrees in 1911; however, it was 1924 before a flock book was published by the Corriedale Sheep Society of New Zealand. The Australian Corriedale Sheep Breeders Association was founded in 1914.

The Corriedale was developed in an effort to establish a true dual purpose breed, combining the best traits of the wool breeds and the meat breeds. The result is a sheep that excels in total commercial returns, yielding a heavy valuable fleece and a high quality carcass. Additionally, Corriedales are known for their mothering ability and their ability to forage under a variety of climactic conditions.

Corriedales rank high in popularity in many nations and are considered to be the second most numerous breed worldwide.

Corriedales at a Glance

Corriedales At A Glance

  • Corriedales possess outstanding mothering ability and are very effective maternal crosses.
  • Corriedales excel reproductively and produce fast-growing, efficient offspring that meet today’s market demand.
  • Corriedales produce bulky, high yielding fleeces with pronounced character and luster.

Corriedale Ewes

  • are early maturing and can be bred as lambs
  • possess outstanding mothering ability
  • have a high multiple birth rate
  • possess excellent potential for fall lambing

 

  • Corriedale Rams

    • sire vigorous, rapid growing lambs
    • sire lambs with good carcasses and high value pelts
    • sire crossbred ewes that make excellent commercial ewes

  • Corriedale Lambs

    • are vigorous at birth and rapid gaining
    • are efficient converters of feed into grain
    • have a high pelt value
    • produce very good carcasses

Corriedales In The United States

In 1914 the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture appointed Professor F. R. Marshall, head sheepman in the Bureau of Animal Industry, and Frank S. King, of Laramie, Wyoming (representing the National Wool Growers Association), to begin a search for a new dual purpose sheep. They traveled to New Zealand, where they selected and imported 65 ewes and 10 rams to the government experiment station in Wyoming. Mr. King also selected about thirty-five (35) head from the C.H. Ensor flock, which he imported about a year later for the F. S. King Brothers’ Company. Eventually Frank King sold his interested in the King Ranch to his brothers, H. J. and J. H. King, who operated as the King Brothers until the flock was dispersed in the late 1940s. F.S. King was responsible for organizing the Wyoming Corriedale Society and founding The American Corriedale Association in 1916. He established his own flock, the Wyoming Corriedale Sheep Company, at Cheyenne, Wyoming. After his death he was succeeded by his son, Arthur, and his grandson, Jerry, who continued to supply breeding stock to a large number of American breeders for many years.

From 1918 until he dispersed his flock in 1945, Malcolm Moncreiffe of Big Horn, Wyoming, produced Corriedales that became the foundation for many good breeding flocks throughout the nation. Mr. Moncreiffe made major importations from three of the dominant breeding establishments in New Zealand: H.T. Little, Campbell and the Bushy Park flocks.

J. F. Walker of Gambier, Ohio, made several importations from New Zealand in 1927, including sheep from the H. T. Little flock , which became the foundation for his flock at Woodbine Farms. This flock, owned by Mr. Walker and his son, H. H. Walker, became one of the better known flocks east of the Mississippi River until its dispersal in 1955.

Leslie L. Crane established a very successful flock in 1925 near Santa Rosa, California. His sons, Lee and Tom, have carried on his tradition of raising fine Corriedales.

The American Corriedale Association was established in 1916 and was followed by the establishment of the National Corriedale Association a few years later. Initially, the Corriedale breed struggled for recognition in the United States. There were only 25 members in the American Corriedale Association in 1924, and 40 members in 1928 with 1,174 Corriedales registered. In 1944 the National Corriedale Sheep Association was joined with the American Corriedale Association. Rollo E. Singleton assumed the duties of the secretary. Since that time Corriedales have gained steadily in popularity. A total of over 375,250 head of Corriedales had been registered by April 30, 1967. Russell E. Jackson followed Mr. Singleton as secretary from 1969 to 1996. Today there are members from more than 40 states and Canada, with more than 547,000 sheep registered.