Teeswater Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

Table of Contents

1 TEESWATER SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
2 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3 EWE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
4 SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION
5 SHEEP WOOL PRODUCTION INFORMATION
6 GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROMNEY SHEEP
7 HISTORY
8 USEFUL LINKS

The Teeswater sheep breed is a hardy sheep breed that can withstand most climatic and environmental conditions. They have a long life and the ewes can produce lambs for up to 10 to 12 years of age. They are a tall, long sheep with a very long shaggy fleece and an off-grey or off-white colored face that has dark markings around its nose and ears. They have a clean face with a topknot of wool on their head that tends to grow and cover their face like a very long fringe of hair.

TEESWATER SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Teeswater sheep is a very hardy, adaptive, prolific and striking sheep breed with a very long wavy coat of wool.
Country of Origin:	United Kingdom
Other Names:	None
Breed Size:	Large
Main Purpose:	Meat and wool
Can be used for	Breed, **LSC, Meat, Wool
Temperament:	They are one of the most docile of all sheep breeds that are really easy to handle.
Ideal Climate:	Heat, Cold, Most climates
Conservation Status:	Not listed by the *ALC Status/Rarity: Listed as rare by the Rare Breed Survival Trust
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	Novice to intermediate sheep farmer/keeper level
Sheep Associations:	American Teeswater Sheep Association, Teeswater Sheep Society and Teeswater Sheep Breeders Association.
Sheep Clubs:	Please refer to the American Teeswater Sheep Association, Teeswater Sheep Society and Teeswater Sheep 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

The Teeswater sheep breed is tall with a long body clean legs and face with marking on it.

Color(s):

White or light brown

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	56 to 90 kgs	120 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear they are a large breed	Unclear they are a large breed
Hair:	Teeswater Sheep have long-stapled wool with high luster and each lock hangs free without felting tendencies. There are no dark fibers in the wool or kemp. They have uniformed purled locks	Teeswater Sheep have long-stapled wool with high luster and each lock hangs free without felting tendencies. There are no dark fibers in the wool or kemp. They have uniformed purled locks
Ears:	Large, pointed with distinctive marking in them.	Large, pointed with distinctive marking in them.
Horns:	No horns	No 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:	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.
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
Milk Ideal for:	Lambs
You may Also Like:	10 Best Sheep Breeds for Milk

SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

The Teeswater has a lean meat with a good meat to bone ratio and light bone. Purebred lambs can reach a weight of 19.9 kgs at 8 weeks old. The lambs can also reach a weight of up to 30 kgs without excess fat.

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Good

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

SHEEP WOOL PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They produce a fine wool that is much in demand with hand spinners.

Wool Production?

Yes, Good quality with a spinning count of 32s to 36s

Wool is used to Produce:

Hand spinning, hand felting, doll making and crafting

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	6 to 8 months	6 to 8 months
Approx. Length:	20 to 30 cm	20 to 30 cm
Microns:	40 to 60	40 to 60
Approx. Quantity:	From 1 kg up to 14 kgs a year	From 1 kg up to 14 kgs a year

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROMNEY SHEEP
A few more interesting facts to know about the breed
Child-Friendly?	No livestock should be left unattended around an unsupervised child not matter how docile or friendly the breed may seem.
Landscape Management?	They are really good at clearing the land and are excellent foragers and grazers.
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the American Teeswater Sheep Association, Teeswater Sheep Society and Teeswater Sheep Breeders Association.
General Information:	The Teeswater lambs were called “mug tops” by the farmers because of the tops of their head being a darker color. The Teeswater lambs are the breed from which the much revered and treasured Wensleydale sheep were developed from. A cross between a Teeswater ewe and a Dishley Leicester ram produced a beautiful large sheep with a grey-blue face and long wool that was named “Bluecap”.

HISTORY

The Teeswater sheep breed is thought to be the development from large long wool breeds of sheep that were brought over with the Romans when the invaded Britain.

The sheep then developed over time and spread out in different areas of Britain each getting their own unique name which was usually named after the area in which they were found.

The Teeswater sheep breed have been crossed with some other breeds in the development of breeds such as the Wensleydale breed of sheep.
As Wensleydale sheep became more popular the Teeswater sheep popularity declined leaving them nearly extinct by the 1920’s.