NAVAJO-CHURRO SHEEP

MTF Amber, A5394-08 and her 2009 twin ram lambs, S'mores and Reeses.

History

Navajo-Churro sheep are an ancient breed, whose ancestors were originally brought to the Americas over 400 years ago by European explorers.  The rough desert environment in the American Southwest shaped them into a hardy, disease and parasite resistant, intelligent (for a sheep!), resilient, and adaptable animal.  The Native people of the American Southwest also adapted to--and adopted--the sheep.  In fact the Navajo-Churro sheep and the Navajo people developed such a symbiotic relationship that the Navajo people say "Sheep is Life." After being in this environment for so long, the Navajo-Churro sheep has evolved into a truly and uniquely American breed.  Unfortunately however, other pressures, such as the subjugation of the Navajo people and the deliberate extermination of their sheep as part of that campaign in the 19th century, and attempted "improvement" of the Navajo-Churro by crossing them with other breeds, have rendered the true Navajo-Churro sheep an endangered breed. I am proud to be part of the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association, helping to preserve this wonderful, unique animal which has had such a huge impact on Southwest culture and Native American life.

Why Navajo-Churro Sheep?

They are endangered and in need of preservation efforts to keep this unique breed from disappearing. They are one of only a few breeds on this planet with the "polycerate" (multiple horn) gene.  Both rams and ewes can have 4, or even more separate horns.  They are very easy to care for, in fact N-C can not only survive, but actually thrive on thin, poor quality browse that would kill big commercial meat breeds.  They are very rarely sick and are very resistant to worms/parasites and hoof rot. They are excellent mothers, rarely have lambing troubles, and even when they have twins or triplets they raise them on their own, keeping track of and feeding and caring for all of them. They are prolific--I generally have over a 200% lamb crop. Their wool can be used for spinning, weaving, and other creative fiber arts. They taste good!  Even my "picky" friends and family who think they hate lamb come back for seconds when I cook lamb for them.  Compared to even imported store-bought lamb, Navajo-Churro are simply mouthwatering.  Much of the commercial, store-bought lamb I have tried tastes to me like sheep smell, but not Navajo-Churro lamb!