Lawrence Cottage Teeswater Sheep
Teeswater sheep originated in Teesdale, England. Teeswater sheep are classified as an English Long Wool breed. The Teeswater sheep are of a gentle/docile temperament. Teeswater wool is of a long staple length, high lustor, extremely soft and genetically kemp free. The long purley locks contain no dark fiber and hang free, without propensity to felt on the animal. Teeswater wool has a soft handle. As of 2020 remains in an upgrade status in North America. So far, the only Teeswater sheep in North America are the result of importation of UK semen and artificial insemination.
Here at Lawrence Cottage we are upgrading with the goal of a purebred registered Teeswater flock. We have percentage Teeswater ewes. We are excited to be adding a few fine Teeswater sheep to our flock with many thanks to the Dally's of Shepherds Lane!
Here at Lawrence Cottage we will strive to preserve this wonderful breed. We feel very honored to have in our care a few of these regal sheep.
82% LCT Wether 2019
LCT Queen Victoria 84.25% Teeswater
LCT Opal 75% Teeswater 2019
Lawrence Cottage Teeswater lamb crop 2013. AI lambs were out of UK Newbould's Grey Green Star.
Our Journey to higher percent Teeswater's continues. It has been a rewarding process to date. It is rewarding to see the improvement in the fiber as our percentage of Teeswater blood increases in the flock Over the past 10 years we have found that the Teeswater lambs grow slower than some breeds, reaching maturity at 2-3 years of age. We tend to breed ewes at the time they reach maturity. The process of upgrading is slow due difficulty obtaining semen to AI from the UK. This is due to the strict USDA import protocol. It has severely hampered upgrading in the USA. There are multiple reasons for this difficulty with the breed of sheep. Two reasons that play a large part are the fact that Teeswater's are fall breeders and Europe has a midge/nat that spreads Schmallenberg virus to mammals in the fall. Animals testing positive for this virus cannot export semen. Another reason for the difficulty is that the UK is now a scrapie free country and no longer requires Codon 171 RR status in the flocks. The USDA only accepts RR Codon 171 tested semen to be imported into the USA at this time. This is difficult to obtain as many rams are apparently no longer RR at Codon 171.
We are a small farm, and keep our numbers of breeding ewes low due to space constraints. This means from time to time we will have some lovely breeding ewes available for sale. Please inquire if you are interested in this lovely breed of sheep.
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2013
2019 Queen Victoria
2019
Hazel, companion to Elizabeth, fondly referred to as Lizzie. (2011)
Hazel is a registered 65.5% Teeswater. Lizzie is a registered 50% Teeswater ewe.
Hazel & Lizzie were two of the founding ewes in the Lawrence Cottage Teeswater flock. Lizzie's progeny have excellent face markings and outstanding fleeces.
Lizzie in 2012 as a yearling ewe
Ruby, beloved matriarch of our flock. I wish I had more photos of her. She was a very solid ewe, and threw excellent lambs! circa 2010-2011. Ruby was one of our very first Teeswater sheep. She is the matriarch of many of the outstanding Teeswaters in the PNW flocks.
This is where it all began. 50% to 66% Teeswater ewes. Minnie on the left. Hazel front right, Ruby behind Hazel and Rosetha in the back of Ruby. Rosetha is a daughter to Ruby. Circa 2010-2011
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