North Country Cheviot Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The North Country Cheviot sheep is a Cheviot breed of sheep that originated from Scotland in around 1791. They are a very striking looking sheep that are hardy and very alert. They have a Roman nose with black nostrils and are naturally polled. They ewes make excellent protective mothers whilst the rams can be a bit aggressive.

NORTH COUNTRY CHEVIOT SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
They are known for the clean smooth haired white faces and legs. They are bred in Scotland but are found in most parts of the United Kingdom as well as Ireland.
Country of Origin:	Scotland
Other Names:	None
Breed Size:	Large
Main Purpose:	Meat and wool
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Can be used for	Breed, **LSC, Meat, Wool
Temperament:	Mostly easy to handle although the ewes can be rather protective over their young and unneutered rams are quite aggressive.
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, 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:	North Country Cheviot Sheep Society and the American North Country Cheviot Sheep
Sheep Clubs:	Please refer to North Country Cheviot Sheep Society and the American North Country Cheviot Sheep for more information
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 attractive and alert breed. They have a large compact body with a clean face and legs both of which has fine smooth hair covering. They have a long Roman nose and usually a clean head with no wool on it. Their wool ends at the neck on their upper bodies and on the upper thighs on their lower bodies.

Color(s):

White to a dark cream color

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	79 kgs	102 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 with a good loft	They have a full fleece that is free of hair, kemp and curl. It is rather spongy to the touch with a good loft
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	10 weeks to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 12 months	5 to 7 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	1 Breeding cycle per year	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 24 to 36 hours
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days/13 to 19 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 150 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
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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. The lambs mature fast and tend to have a plump meaty carcass with delicately trimmed flesh with a great flavor and just enough fat on the meat to keep it succulent. The lambs yield a carcass weight of around 20 kgs between the age of 90 to 120 days old.

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Excellent

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

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. It is still used in the tweed industry as well as for hand spinning. It is a bulky, low luster fleece.

Wool Production?

N/A, Quality: It has a wool grade/spin count of 50s to 56s

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:	27 to 33	27 to 33
Approx. Quantity:	From 1.5 to 2 kgs a year	From 1.5 to 2 kgs a year

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE NORTH COUNTRY 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 North Country Cheviot sheep does not graze in a normal almost V-Shaped flock pattern or even with another sheep. They tend to spread out and cover more ground.
Where to buy them?	Please refer to North Country Cheviot Sheep Society and the American North Country Cheviot Sheep for more information

General Information

They are a very hardy breed that are well able to fend for themselves in just about any climate, environment of farming management system.

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.

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 names these sheep for the hills form which he had selected them, the Cheviot Hills.

In 1912 breeders from Sutherland and Caithness formed the North Country Sheep Breeders Association in order to manage the breeds register, shows and sales. The society was reformed in 1912 to the organization it is today The North Country Cheviot Sheep Society. The society basically controls the breeding registrations, exportation, shows and breeding standards, etc.

These sheep were first imported to the United States in 1944. The American North Country Cheviot Sheep Association was formed in 1962.