Navajo-Churro Sheep
Breed Characteristics
Navajo-Churro sheep are small, with a long tail and double-coated fleece consisting of 80% wool and 20% hair. Adult rams typically weigh from 120-175 pounds and ewes may weigh 90-120 pounds. The sheep are tolerant to temperature extremes and can subsist on marginal forage and minimal amounts of grain or commercial feed. Navajo-Churros are generally docile and easy to handle compared to many larger breeds. They are also highly intelligent and have strong flocking and mothering instincts.
Navajo-Churros have faces and legs that are free of wool. Both males and females may have horns, and a small percentage have multiple horns, up to six. Some rams and ewes have no horns (polled).
The fleece consists of long, tapered locks that are open. The outer hair coat typically grows from 6-8 inches and the wool from 3-6 inches, though the growth can vary depending on climate and the nutritional content of the diet. (Our flock, which ranges on grasses, clover, and scrub, grow their coats at a rate of nearly one inch of wool per month.) Fleece color in the breed is highly variable and ranges from black through brown, grey, red, tan, cream and white. There are many distinct colors and patterns.
In addition to their value as a wool breed, the Navajo-Churro have long served as a food source for Hispanic and Navajo peoples. Sheep can be butchered at any age, but lamb from 6-12 months is most popular. The meat is lean and tender with a mild taste even in mature animals. At 8-9 months, the hanging carcass weight is generally 47-52 pounds. Slow Food, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting heritage foods through biodiversity, has recognized the Navajo-Churro sheep as part of the Ark of Taste.
Breed History*
More than 400 years ago, Spanish settlers imported sheep to North America. As Merino type sheep were considered too valuable to export from Spain, the more “common” breeds such as Churra, Manchega, Castellana and Lacha were sent to the New World. As the settlers expanded their territory into the southwest, their flocks grew, and several Native American Nations, including the Dine’ (Navajo), began to acquire sheep through trading and raids with the Spanish. Then, as other European settlers came west and the demand arose for fine wool in the American textile industry, the churros were “graded up” by crossing with Merino and English longwools. However, these cross breeds were not well suited to dessert conditions, requiring more water and commercial feed than was economically feasible. Some churros remained in the remote Hispanic villages, among the isolated Navajos and on the West Coast. These isolated flocks eventually formed the landrace sheep, the Navajo-Churro, named to recognize Spanish and Navajo influence.
When the Navajos resisted the settlers who were encroaching on Dine’ homelands, the U.S. Government ordered military actions to destroy Navajo orchards and flocks. There was much bloodshed and in 1865 approximately 9,000 Navajos were forced on the Long Walk of 300 miles to an interment camp at Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Terrible conditions here caused the death of many people and their livestock. By the 1930′s the Dine’ had once again regrown their flocks to more 570,000. Spurred by severe drought conditions, the U.S. government conducted a systematic stock reduction, killing 30% of the Dine’s livestock including sheep.
Due in part to the systematic destruction of the sheep and the brutal treatment of the Dine’ people by the U.S. Government, by 1970 the number of Navajo-Churro sheep had dwindled to less than 400. Now, thanks to the efforts of conservation groups including the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association, the Navajo Sheep Project, and specialty craft organizations such as Tierra Wools, the Navajo-Churro are beginning to make a comeback, with over 4,500 sheep currently registered in the U.S. and Canada. Terrapin Gardens is proud to be involved in the conservation of this enduring and versatile heritage breed.
Our breeding ewes are named: Aretha, Anisette, Zinnia, Caramel, Nina, and Manta. The first four came with their names, and the remaining animals were named by us. They all have beautiful wool and are hard workers when it comes to keeping our pasture managed. They have unique personalities and they make us laugh.
The sheep live at our farm thanks to the generosity of Marian White of Land & Lamb. Marian knows the Navajo-Churro breed extremely well, and has been a valuable mentor. We are glad to call her our neighbor and friend.
