Cotswold Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Cotswold Sheep breed originated in the Southern midlands region of the England. Where they wondered the Cotswold hills grazing on the various greenery they found on the hills.

They are a dual-purpose breed that produce good meat and wool with the ewes displaying strong maternal instincts. These wooly sheep with their unique hairdo’s are a rather docile friendly bunch and have been around for generations.

COTSWOLD SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Cotswold sheep breed are hardy, adaptable and easy to handle with their placid docile temperament
Country of Origin:	United Kingdom
Other Names:	None
Breed Size:	Large
Main Purpose:	Meat and wool
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat, Wool, **LSC (Landscape Management)
Temperament:	Docile and easy to handle
Ideal Climate:	Most climates
Conservation Status:	Yes Listed by the *ALC Status/ Rarity: Threatened
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	They are an intermediate level sheep farmer/keeper
Sheep Associations:	American Cotswold Record Association
Sheep Clubs:	Cotswold Breeders Association
Note: ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy * LSC stands for Landscape Management – the animal is used for controlling various vegetation growth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Known as “gentle giants” these beautiful docile sheep are really gentle and friendly. They have a large body with their wool covering their heads and sometimes their eyes. Their legs are usually covered with wool and they have black hooves and noses.

Color(s):

White with occasional black spots on the wool or a mottled face.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	Up to 90 kgs	136 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear they are a large sized breed	Unclear they are a large sized breed
Hair:	Full grown coat can measure up to 25 to 30 cm. It has a curl and a prominent waive. It is uniform across the body and is lustrous. Although it is known to be quite a coarse wool.	Full grown coat can measure up to 25 to 30 cm. It has a curl and a prominent waive. It is uniform across the body and is lustrous. Although it is known to be quite a coarse wool.
Ears:	Small pointed ears that stick out to the sides of the head	Small pointed ears that stick out to the sides of the head
Horns:	Polled or short horns	Polled or short horns
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.
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 to 2 (twins) lambs in a season
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
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SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

A Cotswold sheep will usually be slaughtered around 4 months of age and will weigh approximately 18 to 22 kg’s at the time.

The Purebred lambs are said to have some of the most favorable tasting meat with a mild flavor that is the most in demand meat. The lambs are fast growing and generally grade well.

They breed is also suitable for mutton and hogget, but the older sheep need to be kept under watch or they tend to put on fat really quickly.

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Excellent

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

SHEEP WOOL PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Cotswold sheep has been producing wool for the wool trade since around the 15th century.

Wool Production?

Yes, Quality: Heavy lustrous fleece with a Bradford count of 44s to 48s

Wool is used to Produce:

Ideal and in demand for hand spinners. They are used for other garments, wools, etc.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months	6 to 8 months
Approx. Length:	15 to 20 cm	15 to 20 cm
Microns:	32 to 40	32 to 40
Approx. Quantity:	From 5.5 to 10 kgs a year	From 5.5 to 10 kgs a year

SHEEP SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The lambs have excellent pelt quality and yields. The older sheep’s pelts are also used in the various manufacturing of leather goods products

Skin Production?

Yes, Quality: Good

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 COTSWOLD SHEEP
A few more interesting facts to know about the breed
Child-Friendly?	They are okay around children, but no child should be left unsupervised around any type of livestock no matter the animals temperament.
Landscape Management?	They are excellent foragers and landscape mangers
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the Cotswold Breeders Association for information on breeders
General Information	The Cotswold is a heritage breed and has been deemed as quite rare these days. It is also listed at the American Livestock Conservancy as a threated status. The Cotswold sheep fiber is highly prized and is sometimes referred to as a “Poor man’s mohair” In the 16th and 17th century the Cotswold sheep breed were nicknamed the “Golden Fleece breed” as they had a golden coat.

HISTORY

The Cotswold sheep is said to be a very old breed of sheep that originated on the hilltops of the Southern midlands region of England.

The Cotswold sheep has been described as a large white-woolled sheep breed with a white face. They are usually polled, with black hooves and sometimes small black spots on their ears.
They have basically been described the same way in registries for almost five-hundred years and captured on wall paintings as such going back maybe another 200 odd years.

There is another breed of Cotswold sheep called the Black Cotswold that exhibits the same traits and the Cotswold sheep but is, in fact a breed of its own.

Christopher Dunn was the first to introduce the Cotswold sheep to America in 1832. After wich they were deemed the most popular sheep breed in America by 1879. There over 760000 recorded head of Cotswold sheep in America. Even when the Merino sheep was fist introduced to America from Australia the Cotswold sheep still reigned supreme as the favorite breed.

The Merino’s more superior fleece and quick maturing lambs soon took over as the most popular and prominent sheep breed in America. So much so that by the 1980’s there were fewer than 600 recorded Cotswold in Britain and the US. By 1993 there were less than 400 registered lambs.

This put the Cotsworld on the “rare” breed list of the American Livestock conservancy. It shook up some of the sheep community who took an interest in the breed and started to become popular as a wool breed amongst spinners.