Drysdale sheep

Stud Drysdale ewe

The Drysdale breed of sheep originated in New Zealand and is raised primarily for wool.^[1] Dr. Francis Dry in 1931 noticed a genetic freak, a Romney ram with a high percentage of very coarse wool. Crossing two Romneys and Cheviots resulted in a sheep with a lot of coarse, Wool|fleece]] is about 6 kg (13 lb) with a 40 microns^[2] fibre diameter^[3] and a staple of 200 to 300 mm (7.9 to 11.8 in). The coarse wool gene causes both male and female Drysdales to be horned. The male's horn resembles a Wiltshire ram's horn whereas the ewes horns are very small- usually only 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in) in length.

The largest flock of Drysdale sheep outside of indigenous New Zealand is that of Nathan Drysdale, a famous UK farmer based in Peterborough.

References

1. "Drysdale". Oklahoma State University, Dept. of Animal Science. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
2. Preparation of Australian Wool Clips, Code of Practice 2010-2012, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010
3. Sheep breed compendium, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010

• Stephens, M (et al.), Handbook of Australian Livestock, Australian Meat & Livestock Export Corporation, 2000 (4th ed), ISBN 1-74036-216-0