Cheviot sheep

Ewe with triplets
A ram
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not at risk: 146 
  • RBST (2026): not listed
  • DAD-IS (2026): not at risk
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Distribution
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Ireland
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    average 90 kg
  • Female:
    average 55 kg
Height
  • Male:
    average 75 cm
  • Female:
    average 65 cm
Wool colourwhite
Face colourwhite
Horn statususually polled

The Cheviot is a British breed of white-faced hill sheep. It originated in, and is named for, the Cheviot Hills in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.: 781  It is still common in this area of the United Kingdom, but also in north-west Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the south-west of England (especially Dartmoor and Exmoor), as well as more rarely in Australia, New Zealand, Norway (2%), and the United States.

References

  1. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 Watchlist 2025–26. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 27 June 2025.
  3. ↑ Breed data sheet: Cheviot / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2026.
  4. 1 2 Transboundary breed: Cheviot. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2026.
  5. ↑ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  6. ↑ Tim Elliot ([n.d.]). The Cheviot Sheep: History. Thornhill, Dumfriesshire: Cheviot Sheep Society. Archived 5 January 2026.