Our flock currently consists of 80 ewes and 3 rams.  We have primarily concentrated on the North Country Cheviot because of its hardiness and easy lambing characteristics.  We also have a few Border Leicestershire and some Arcott crosses which when bred with the North Country ram give us an exceptionally good carcass for market lamb.  We also have an Icelandic ram which we use with our ewe lambs for first time breeding to give us a smaller birth weight and therefore make lambing easier for the young ewes.  Our best quality North Country ewes are bred with the Registered North Country ram for good Reg. North Country breeding stock.  Our lambs are pasture raised on herbicide and pesticide free pastures and are all natural.   We do not feed any chemical additives or animal by-products to our lamb and we follow a pasture rotation method of grazing to help control parasites. We sell our market lamb directly from the farm.  Our customers tell us it is the best tasting lamb they have ever eaten.

North Country Cheviot Sheep

If you want a hardy sheep that can thrive whether the conditions are adverse or ideal then North Country Cheviots are for you. North Country Cheviots are a "hill breed" of sheep. They evolved on the rugged Scotch highlands and of necessity had to thrive unattended by man and search for food on wild unimproved land. In these conditions' the ewes usually lambed alone and the newborn lambs survived by their near-miraculous ability to get-up, nurse and run just minutes after their birth.

North Country lambs are still doing just that-getting up, nursing and running just minutes after birth. A long-time breeder of North Country Cheviots living in the West Virginia Mountains has ewes that can lamb at the bottom of a steep hill in three feet of snow, in below freezing temperatures, with no shelter and present a pair of twins the next morning-both lambs well-fed and healthy. Upon hearing this story one may think, "Sure he does! I'll believe that when I see it." Fantasy quickly becomes stark reality when the shepherd owns North Country Cheviot sheep and sees them perform before his own eyes. No more spending those long night hours with lambing ewes, connecting newborn lambs to teats and coaxing them to get up and nurse. North Country lambs are strong at birth and have the ability to get-up, nurse and run just minutes after birth. The ewes have strong protective instinct toward their lambs, have plenty of milk and take extremely good care of their lambs.

North Country Cheviot sheep are intelligent, self-reliant, resourceful and among the healthiest and longest lived breeds.  Part of this self-reliance is attested to by a long-time herdsman who commented, "The North Country Cheviot is the only breed of sheep I ever saw chase a dog out of the pasture." Being the product of two hundred years of selection by survival of the fittest is still paying off for North Country Cheviot sheep and their shepherds. North Country Cheviots are indeed the "best kept secret in the sheep industry."

ORIGINS IN SCOTLAND

In 1791 Sir John Sinclair brought 500 "long hill" ewes from the Cheviot Hills near the English border to the counties of Caithness and Sutherland in the north of Scotland. He named these sheep "Cheviots" after the hill area from which they originated. Later on, another hill breed was introduced into the ranges of central Scotland thus the Scottish Blackface created a definite separation between northern counties of Caithness and Sutherland and the border region in southern Scotland, Most authorities speculate that both English and Border Leicesters may have been introduced into the North Country Cheviots at this time. The result was a larger sheep that had a longer fleece and one that matured earlier. Currently the North Country is about twice the size of its southern relative.
In 1912, Caithness and Sutherland breeders formed the North Country Sheep Breeders Association to manage shows and sales. In 1945 this organization was reformed into the existing North Country Cheviot Sheep Society for registration, exporting, promotion and breed improvement.

IMPORTATION TO NORTH AMERICA

North Country Cheviots were first imported into North America in 1944 when Mr, W.A.M.M. lnnes helped arrange the importation of ten ewes and two rams to MacDonald College, Quebec. These animals were the gift of Scotch breeders to the college, the off spring of this small flock made such a favourable impression in eastern Canada that in 1949 Mr. J.W. Graham of the Canadian federal Department of Agriculture was asked to go to Scotland and select 51 ewes and five rams. By 1953 several more shipments totalling 120 head had arrived, and some of these were used to establish flocks in the Maritime Provinces.

BREED DESCRIPTION

The North Country is an intelligent, tough, resourceful sheep that produces both a superior lamb crop and a fleece that delights hand spinners. It has outstanding crossbreeding ability and can be used as either the sire or the dam breed. The resulting lambs from cross-breeding to meat breeds have superior carcasses. At 90 to 120 days a first class North Country lamb will yield a carcass of around 45 pounds with a high proportion of lean meat of excellent quality. The cross on wool breeds develops a superior type of light shrinking, staple length, and all-white wool of Medium grade. A mature ewe will weigh 180 pounds and a mature ram 300 pounds. North Country Cheviot rams impart vigour and muscling to their lambs. They are aggressive, active breeders and an ideal crossing breed.
North Country Cheviot sheep are pleasing to the eye. They are a large chalk-white, alert deep-bodied sheep, symmetrical in outline, belly and flanks well covered with wool. The rams are distinctly masculine and the ewes, strong, but feminine. The head is covered with short, glossy-white hair as are the legs. The nose is moderately long Roman to slightly Roman. Legs are medium long in proportion to size, good bone, strong pasterns and the hoofs are black.
An average fleece should weigh 8 to 10 pounds and in the grade range of 1/4 to 3/8 blood. It is of fairly fine quality, grading from 50's up to 56's Bradford count. The wool is pure white, lofty and strong, with very good staple length. It is not hard, but has a spongy feeling when grasped. The wool is largely used in the Scottish tweed trade and is a favourite of hand spinners.

Reference  Breeds of Livestock - North Country Cheviot