The North Country Cheviot sheep is a type of Cheviot sheep which was originated from Scotland and is mainly found there.
But it is also found in other parts of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. Today the breed is raised mainly for meat production purpose.
Sir John Sinclair brought ewes from the Cheviot Hills in 1791. He named these sheep ‘Cheviots’ after the hill area they actually originated. And into the ranges of central Scotland another hill breed was introduced, thus the Scottish Blackface created a definite separation between northern countries of Caithness and Sutherland and the border region in southern Scotland.
According to most authorities, both Border and English Leicesters may have been introduced into the North Country Cheviot sheep at that time.
And the result was a larger sheep breed that had a longer fleece, and matured earlier. It is much larger, about twice the size of it’s southern relative.
The North Country Cheviot Sheep Breeders Association was founded in 1912, for managing shows and sales.
And the organization was reformed into the existing North Country Cheviot Sheep Society in 1945 for registration, promotion, breed improvement and exporting. Read some more information about this sheep breed below.
North Country Cheviot Sheep Characteristics
The North Country Cheviot sheep are large animals with very beautiful appearance. They are mainly white in color, and deep-bodied animals. They are symmetrical in outline, belly and flanks are well covered with wool.
Their head is covered with short, glossy-white hair, as well are the legs. They have moderately long Roman nose to slightly Roman.
Legs of the North Country Cheviot sheep are medium long in proportion to size, good bone, strong pasterns and the hoofs are black. Their wool is pure white in color, lofty and strong with very good staple length.
Their eyes have a black line around them, and their neck is generally short and strong. Both rams and ewes are generally polled.
Average live body weight of the mature North Country Cheviot rams is around 102 kg. And average live body weight of the mature ewe is around 79 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia.
Uses
This is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production.
Special Notes
The North Country Cheviot sheep are very strong animals. They are very beautiful animals with striking appearance. They are alert, tough, resourceful and intelligent animals.
They are raised mainly as a meat sheep breed, but are also good for producing fleece that delights handspinners.
The breed has outstanding crossbreeding ability and can be used as either the sire or the dam breed. The resulting lambs from cross-breeding to meat sheep breeds have superior carcasses.
The lambs grow relatively faster and yield a carcass of around 20 kg at their 90 to 120 days of age.
The North Country Cheviot rams impart vigor and muscling to their lambs, and they can be aggressive. The rams are active breeders and an ideal crossing breed.
They are distinctly masculine and the ewes are strong but feminine. However, review full breed profile of this breed in the following chart.
| Breed Name | North Country Cheviot |
| Other Name | None |
| Breed Purpose | Mainly meat |
| Special Notes | Very strong animals, very beautiful with striking appearance, alert, tough, resourceful, intelligent, raised mainly as a meat breed, but are also good for producing wool, lambs grow relatively faster, rams can be aggressive, ewes are strong but feminine, today raised mainly for meat production |
| Breed Size | Large |
| Weight | Mature ram’s live body weight is around 102 kg, and the mature ewe’s average live body weight is around 79 kg |
| Horns | No |
| Climate Tolerance | Many climates |
| Color | Generally white |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | Scotland |
