Diversity

About Elliottdale SheepAbout Elliottdale Sheep



Elliottdale are a dual-purpose (meat and wool) sheep developed at the Elliott Research Station in Tasmania during the 1970s. They were commercialized in 1986, which helped established the Australian Carpet Wool Industry. The effect of the EI gene (Elliottdale) is similar to the Drysdale, Tukidale, and Carpetmaster genes in the Romney breed, and are at a different locus on the chromozone. Today, the Elliottdale sheep breed is rare and is at serious risk of extinction with very little breeding animals left.

They are medium-sized uni-colored white sheep. They produce good quality fleece, and their wool has a fiber diameter of 38-40 microns. The ewes are always polled, but the rams can be either horned or polled. The average live body weight of the mature Elliottdale ewes is around 58 kg. And the fully grown ram’s live body weight is around 70 kg.