Bond sheep are an Australian

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 domesticated ...

breed that was developed around 1909 near

Lockhart, New South Wales Lockhart is a town in the Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of the Lockhart Shire Council offices. At the 2016 census, Lockhart had a population of 818 people. History Lockhart was named after C.G.N. Lockhart ...

by Thomas Bond when he mated Saxon-Peppin

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 ...

ewes to stud

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

rams for primarily

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. ...

production. The resulting progeny was selected on the basis that they would be more suited to the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

environment. Initially these sheep were known as ‘the Commercial

Corriedale The Corriedale is a New Zealand breed of sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australi ...

’. In 1979, the name was changed to Bond and the Bond Sheepbreeders Association was formed at Lockhart in 1984. Bond are easy care, plain bodied sheep that produce white, long stapled, high yielding wool of about with a diameter of 22 to 28

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 Unit ...

with a fleece weight of about . Stud rams may weigh up to under good conditions. High lambing percentages are common. The breed is quite common in the south-east areas of Australia. Stud animals have been exported to China,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

References

*Stephens, M (''et al.''), ''Handbook of Australian Livestock'', Australian Meat & Livestock Export Corporation, 2000 (4th ed),

External links

Australian Bond Sheep Breeders Association
Sheep breeds originating in Australia Sheep breeds {{sheep-stub