habituate : Navajo - Churros have a lustrous wool frame of a strong outer layer and a soft undercoat which is low in lanolin , making it easier to moisten , notice , spin , and weave . The exposed locks and wide coloring material grasp make Navajo wool ideal for hand spinner and weavers . The meat of this multi - purpose breed is delicious and amazingly lean , although they give way a fairly small carcass .
History : The rare and beautiful Navajo - Churro , the first breed of domesticated sheep brought to the New World , is one baffling subsister . The root of this stock extend fashion back to Churra sheep fetch from Spain by Spanish conquistadores back in the 1500s . The Spanish pry the Churra – afterwards altered to Churro — as a hardy and adaptable reservoir of solid food and fiber , and the sheep spread to ranch all along the upper Rio Grande Valley . Native Americans eventually obtained their own pot by sell with ( and raiding ) Spanish settlements . crowd these sheep and weave their wool into carpeting and other textiles shortly became an crucial way of life for the Navajo , a primarily agricultural hoi polloi . The 1800s , however , almost see the breed ’s extinction , as many of the sheep on Hispanic cattle ranch became cross - bred with ok wool rams and the U.S. ground forces , in retaliation for raids on white settlement , decimated the Navajo ’s flocks . By the 1900s , thanks to more breed “ improvement ” and stock reductions , only a few remnant flocks remained in remote New Mexico hamlet and canyons in the Navajo Reservation . Luckily , some devoted stock breeder came to the Churro ’s rescue during the seventies . Today , the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy classifies the breed as threaten , with an estimated global universe of less than 5,000 animal .
Conformation : While most Churros on the Navajo reservation are blanched , the woolen of this genetically diverse strain can display a gorgeous variety of earthy colors : black , gray , rust , brown , ecru . The outer coat has a long staple distance of six to twelve inches . These long - legged and long - tailed sheep are one of the few breeds that dribble the polycerate gene ; they can sport two , four , or even six horns ( they can also be poll ) . Mature rams weigh about 120 to 175 quid , while ewe operate around 85 to 120 pounds .
Special Considerations / Notes : The harsh condition of the American Southwest have molded the primitive Navajo - Churro into a hardy , adaptable , gentle - to - keep breed that excels on range and marginal land . They ’re extremely resistant to disease and parasites , and the ewes Charles Lamb easily , tend to twin , and make stormily protective mothers . Well adapted to dryer climates and rough land , these sheep require more frequent hoof trimming when hold open on lush , gentle pastures . In wetter climates , they also take their woollen sheared doubly a year .
