The Breed Registry of Bond Sheep in the USA

The Bond breed is close to the Corriedale breeding in that it too was a Merino X Lincoln, but with more of an emphasis on a finer, longer staple. From the OSU Encyclopedia of Sheep Breeds: "Bonds evolved in Australia in 1909 as a dual-purpose breed, using Peppin Merinos and imported Lincoln rams. The Australian Bond Sheep Breeders' Association has existed since 1984. It now has 30 registered studs that sell more than 3,000 rams annually. Wool selection for Bond sheep is for big, bulky, long stapled bright 22-28 micron fibers. Bonds are renowned for long, lean, fast growing lambs. Their robust constitution means they are capable of coping with extreme climatic conditions. Bond sheep are mainly found in the southeast portion of Australia. Being a new breed, numbers available for export are limited."

The four original imported Bond sheep are all moorit (genetically brown) Bonds brought into the USA in 2000, from the flock of Mr. Cyril Lieschke of Cora Lynn, near Henty, NSW. Cyril's farm has long been known for the quality breeding of coloured Merinos, Bonds and Corriedales. At one time, his coloured ewe flock was the largest known in the world.

One of the ways in which Bond and Corriedale breeding is different: the goal of the Bond breeding was to produce a longer stapled, finer in grade, denser fleece with a bolder crimp. It's not uncommon for an adult 175 pound Bond ram to produce 16 pounds of wool, unskirted. This increased fleece weight-to-body-size is a product of longer staples and denser wool fibers (more wool follicles per square inch of skin). Wool density is the direct result of the breeding of the sire and dam.

Breeding the Bond wool to have a bold crimp is also a great distinction from other breeds of sheep. This bold crimp is often mistaken as an indication of "coarseness" or said to indicate a "strong wool" over a finer-in-grade wool. Micron testing the wool shows this is not the case. The Bond wool is often finer in grade than this bold crimp would indicate.

The conformation points are as follows:
1) mature rams no taller than 32 inches at the shoulder
2) long body frame, short neck, short legs with an appearance of "stockiness"
3) distinctive, bold face and nose
4) mature ram weight of no more than 225 pounds, mature ewe weight of no more than 175 pounds
5) white Bonds have a white or "pink" nose with light coloured hooves. Coloured Bonds have darker face and leg colour than wool colour.

Wool qualities:
1) micron count of 22 to 28, spinning count of 56s to 62s or finer.
2) staple length of 4.5 inches or longer
3) bold, even crimp
4) minimal belly or britch wool.
5) excellent wool density with a heavy fleece

We offer a Bond registry service: that is, complete records of all pure Bonds being bred in the USA, as well as some records of Bond crosses.

To register new lambs, please send the following information:
1) date of birth
2) names of sire and dam (& ear tags if they have been replaced)
3) colour of animal
4) birth weight
5) sex
6) single, twin, or triplet
7) does the ram have scurs, or horns (technically these should not be registered)

All of this information is recorded in the registry, but not all of it appears on your Certificate of Registry.
All Bond breeding records are available to USA breeders at anytime, so long as original GFW ear tag number or original name can be provided for searching records.
Deaths and causes of death are also recorded in the registry if breeders let me know. There is no charge for recording this information.

There is a $5 charge for recording transfers or new registrations of purebred lambs.

Please address your questions or record changes to Joanna & Keith Gleason at gfwsheep@gfwsheep.com or call 303.823.0837