An old British breed of small, hardy sheep from the border of Scotland and England, cheviots were once popular hill country sheep, but numbers have now fallen to the staus of a minority breed. The biggest flocks are in the Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Southland where they are valued as an active and smaller sire for hoggets on some of the larger and steeper farms. They are fairly 'flighty' sheep, quick to move.

The cheviot seems to have some characters typical of the north European sheep group - bare legs and face, and the face is fine and narrow. The particular advantage of the Cheviot from the low-input orchard sheep point of view is that it captures two fundemental traits in one breed - a relatively small animal and short legs.

Although footrot resistance is unknown, they originate from a wet land, and they have hard black hooves, which some people claim may be associated with resistance to footrot.

Cheviots are known as hardy, browsing sheep adapted to wet cold conditions. Their lambs have a reputation for vigor under adverse conditions.

Crossing with wool shedding breeds would solve the wool problem while capturing some of the small size and short leg advantage.

In summary, cheviot, along with merino (and especially feral merino), may be the best foundation breed on which to tack wool shedding, except that their active and somewhat flighty temperament is a minus. Wool shedding is relatively highly heritable, so is relatively easy to add to the design.


Cheviot Sheep Society of New Zealand
Contact: Mrs Judith Pascoe, Creyke Rd, RD 1, Darfield, Canterbury