The Navajo-Churro, or Churro for short, (also American or Navajo Four-Horned) is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of domestic sheep originating with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Churra The Churra (also known as ''Spanish Churro'') is an ancient Iberian breed of sheep from Zamora province in Castile and León. The ewes produce the milk for Zamorana cheese; the meat is also prized. The Churra (renamed "churro" by American fr ...

sheep obtained by

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...

and other Native American nations around the 16th century during the

Spanish Conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

. The breed is renowned for its hardiness and adaptability to extremes of

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

. Its

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

consists of a protective topcoat and soft undercoat. Some rams have four fully developed horns, a trait shared with few other breeds in the world. The Navajo-Churro has also gained popularity for its low-maintenance reputation, resistance to disease, and lean meat. Some say they are very personable. Ewes often birth

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

s. This breed is raised primarily for wool.

History

The Churra (renamed Churro by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

frontiersmen) was first imported to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in the 16th century and used to feed

armies and settlers. By the 17th century Churros were popular with the Spanish settlers in the upper Rio Grande Valley. Flocks of Churros were also acquired by the Navajo through trading. The Churro soon became an important part of the Navajo economy and culture. A series of United States government-sponsored flock reductions and cross-breedings decimated the Navajo flocks until the Churro sheep nearly disappeared. Restoration of the breed began in the 1970s when breeders began acquiring Churro

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

s with the purpose of preserving the breed and revitalizing Navajo and Hispanic flocks.Sacred Sheep Revive Navajo Tradition, For Now

Weekend Edition Saturday ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, 2010-06-13, accessed 2010-06-13. While the Navajo-Churro breed is no longer in danger of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, it is still considered a rare breed.

Horns

The Navajo-Churro breed rams can have two, four, six, or more horns. This is because they possess the

polycerate Polycerates (meaning "many-horned") are animals with more than two horns. Sheep Polycerate sheep breeds include the Hebridean, Icelandic, Jacob, Manx Loaghtan, Boreray and the Navajo-Churro. One example of a polycerate Shetland sheep was a ra ...

gene, which is also found in old heritage breeds like the

Jacob Sheep The Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origi ...

. They also have the ability to have fused horns. Ewes also can have horns, or nubs called

scur A scur is an incompletely developed horn growth. In cattle, scurs are not attached to the skull, whereas horns are attached and have blood vessels and nerves. Scurs may also occur in sheep. Genetic Inheritance The gene for scurs is inherited s ...

s. The color can be black, white, or striped. The growth of rams’ horns is slow. A full rack takes at least four to five years to grow out. A ewe's horns can also grow large, but not to the extent of the rams. The horns often curl around to the front, and should be away, and not close to the face. The horn quality is essential to getting good genetics in a flock; bad horns in the sire will continue down through his offspring. Horns can break, and as they are living at the base, they will bleed.

Color

Churros come in a variety of colors, including reds, browns, black, white, and mixes, and color may change with age. The color is separated into fleece color, and the points color (legs and head). The sheep may also have different color patterns, such as eye patches and hip spots.

Fleece

The Navajo-Churros possess a dual coat, which has an inner and an outer layer. The fleece is composed of an inner coat (80% of fleece), and outer coat that is hair fibers (10-20% of fleece) and kemp (a coarse, opaque fiber, less than 5% of fleece). The fleece color is separated from the points color. The fleece can often change from lamb to adulthood. Blacks, for instance, often white out with age. The Navajo people have used Churro fleece in rugs and other weavings for some time. The wide range of natural colors makes it easy to have a variety of colors without the need for dyeing, although natural vegetable dyes are sometimes used to produce deeper colors and wider selection.

Listings

Navajo-Churros are listed by

The Livestock Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...

a
threatened
and are part of the

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...

Ark of heritage foods.

References

External links

Navajo-Churro Sheep Association

The Navajo Sheep Project

Diné be' iiná, Inc., a nonprofit organization (The Navajo Lifeway)

The Livestock Conservancy - Navajo-Churro Sheep
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navajo-Churro Sheep Navajo culture Sheep breeds originating from Indigenous Americans Sheep breeds originating in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Americas articles needing attention