Cheviot Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The modern-day Cheviot sheep is a pure-bred sheep that have been produced by selection rather than cross breeding. It is one of the few pure breed sheep breeds in America and also smaller than most meat sheep breeds. They are thought to be a superior breed in many ways and their raised ears, the way they carry their heads and bodies give them a stately air.

CHEVIOT SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
They are known as the white-faced sheep as they have a very white smooth face free of wool and a black muzzle.
Country of Origin:	United Kingdom
Other Names:	None
Breed Size:	Large
Main Purpose:	Meat and wool
Can be used for	Breed, Meat, Wool **LSC (Landscape Management)
Temperament:	Docile and easy to handle
Ideal Climate:	Most climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC Status/ Rarity: Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	Novice to intermediate level sheep breeder
Sheep Associations:	American Cheviot Sheep Society and Cheviot Sheep Society
Sheep Clubs:	Please refer to the American Cheviot Sheep Society and Cheviot Sheep Society for information on breeders and breeders club directories.
Note: ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy * LSC stands for Landscape Management – the animal is used for controlling various vegetation growth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Cheviot sheep breed is a very active and alert breed. They have a large compact body with a clean face and legs. They have a long Roman nose and they do have a bit of long hair reaching up to where their horns should be but does not extend to their faces.

Color(s):

White to a dark cream color

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	55 to 72 kgs	72 to 90 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear	Unclear
Hair:	They have a full fleece that is free of hair, kemp and curl. It is rather spongy to the touch	They have a full fleece that is free of hair, kemp and curl. It is rather spongy to the touch
Ears:	They have long white ears	They have long white ears
Horns:	Polled	May have horns but normally polled
Matures at age:	10 weeks/15 months or 15 years	10 weeks to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 12 months	5 to 7 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	See Ewe Breeding & Milking Info.	Cover 5 to 10 Ewes in 1 season

EWE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION

The ewes breed once a year and mostly produce enough milk to wean their lambs. They generally have not problems with their lambing and make kind gentle mothers. They have a 90% lambing average even under the most intense and extreme environmental conditions.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 16 to 59 hours
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days/15 to 20 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 149 to 155 days but most gestation is 152 days
No. Lambs/Litter:	1 and on the rare occasion 2 (twins)
Lactation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 240 day but most are milked for 180 days
Milking From:	4 to 6 weeks after lambing
Milk Quality:	Good, Quantity: Enough to wean lambs , Per: Lactation period
Milk Ideal for:	Lambs
You may Also Like:	10 Best Sheep Breeds for Milk

SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Cheviot sheep breed is generally the lamb or sheep meat choice of most mothers. The meat has more meat and less fat ratio thereby giving less weight percentage. It is also prized by meat packers who for this very reason can get more lamb “on the hoof”. They have a plump meaty carcass with delicately trimmed flesh with a great flavor and just enough fat on the meat to keep it succulent.

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Excellent

SHEEP ⇒	LAMB	HOGGET/MUTTON
Approx. Maturity Weight:	58 kgs	79 kgs
Approx. Maturity Age:

SHEEP WOOL PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Cheviot sheep breed has a very generous fleece being a thick long-haired breed of sheep. It’s white/light colored wool is a preference of the mills and for years the Cheviot was one of the top wools once used for the base of the Border Tweed industry.

Wool Production?

Yes, Quality: Fine quality with a distinctive helical crimp in it giving it a high resiliency.

Wool is used to Produce:

Harris Tweed, carpets and some craft trade. It can also be spun into other wool to make it more durable.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months	6 to 8 months
Approx. Length:	8 to 10 cm	8 to 10 cm
Microns:	30 to 35	30 to 35
Approx. Quantity:	From 2.23 kg up to 4.5 kgs a year	From 2.23 kg up to 4.5 kgs a year

SHEEP SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They are not primarily bred for their sheep skin production. Although their skin is or has at some time been used for the production of some form of sheep skin product such as chamois, etc.

Skin Production?

Yes, Quality: N/A

Skin is used to Produce:

Kid skin leather products such as shoes, car seats, fine leather coats, gloves, etc.
Chamois cloths, leather goods such as seats, shoes and other garments and leather materials such as furniture, etc.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	3 to 10 months for Kid skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather	3 to 10 months for Kid skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHEVIOT SHEEP

A few more interesting facts to know about the breed
Child-Friendly?	No livestock should be left alone with unsupervised children no matter how sweet or docile the breed may seem to be.
Landscape Management?	The Cheviot sheep does not graze in a normal almost V-Shaped flock pattern or even with another sheep. Instead they tend to spread out and attack the landscape with vigor. Covering more ground and denser bush.
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the various societies such as the American Cheviot Sheep Society and Cheviot Sheep Society
Good to Know:	They Cheviot sheep do not need any pampering. They are a hardy breed that can look after themselves and actually prefer to do so. They suit the low-input hill farming systems of the modern-day ethos. They can graze off the hill-tops all year around without any supplementary feed and still produce fine quality lambs, wool, meat and even milk.

HISTORY

The Cheviot sheep were first introduced to Scotland by Sir John Sinclair who brought 500 “long hill” ewes he selected from the Cheviot Hills near the English border of the counties Sutherland and Caithness in Northern Scotland. He named these sheep for the hills form which he had selected them, the Cheviot Hills.

Cheviot sheep have been in America since the 1840’s and in 1924 the American Cheviot Sheep Society was formed by Cheviot Sheep breed fanciers. They produced a longer legged, meatier and hardier Cheviot sheep breed that meets the requirements of the current sheep market trends.