Registration Rules

Sheep Eligible for Registration
For registration in CBA, a Cotswold sheep must be able to trace in unbroken lines, through both sire and dam, to registration in recognized US, Canadian, or English Cotswold sheep associations. Only purebred sheep may be registered, i.e., 100% Cotswold blood. Anyone desiring to register sheep in the Cotswold Breeders Association must be a paid-up member of CBA and provide CBA with evidence of such registration as may be acceptable to the Board of Directors of CBA. Acceptable evidence shall be official certificates of registry from recognized Cotswold associations, showing the sire and dam of the individual animal in question.

Recognized Cotswold associations are American Cotswold Record Association, Black Cotswold Society, British Cotswold Sheep Society and Canadian Sheep Breeders Association.
Any purebred Cotswold sheep registered in a recognized Cotswold sheep society may be considered for registration in Cotswold Breeders Association by forwarding a copy (front and back) of the official registration certificate in said society to the Registrar of CBA, along with a Registration Application and registration fee indicated on the current fee list.
Progeny of Leicester ram used to crossbreed purebred Cotswold ewes by the British Cotswold Sheep Society may be registered. Progeny will be indicated by an asterisk * following the registration number.

Any purebred Cotswold EWE registered in another recognized Cotswold association must be registered in CBA before her offspring can be registered.

Any purebred Cotswold RAM registered in another recognized Cotswold association must be registered in CBA before his offspring can be registered.

Exception:

  1. When a ewe is bred to a ram (both being registered in another Cotswold association), and that “bred ewe” is sold before she lambs, that ewe may be registered in CBA and when the lambs are born, they may be registered in CBA, without the ram being registered in CBA. A complete Certificate of Breeding must accompany the Registration Application for offspring resulting from said breeding.
  2. When the ram used to service a ewe(s) registered with CBA, is registered with a Cotswold association other than CBA, but is not owned by the breeder, the resulting lambs may be registered in CBA without the ram being registered. A completed Certificate of Breeding must accompany the application of Registry for the offspring resulting from said breeding.

Breeder
The recorded owner of the dam at the time she was bred is the breeder of the lamb produced by this breeding.

Owner
The lamb owner is the recorded owner of the dam at the time she lambs.

Registration Number
Each sheep or lamb registered in the Cotswold Breeders Association will be assigned a Registration Number. This number will consist of a letter, indicating the animal’s color and a five digit numeral. For example W12345 or C/W00555.
The color indicating letters are as follows:
W       White animals with all white ancestors
C        Black, gray, silver or other non-white animal
C/W   White animal with colored ancestors

Tattoo
Tattooing is intended primarily for identifying sheep as individuals. Upon receipt of the registration certificate, each member shall tattoo the registration number in the sheep’s right ear. This tattoo will serve as a positive and permanent identification for the sheep. The color identifying letter (W, C, C/W) must be included in the tattoo.

It is permissible to eliminate the place-marking “ZERO” digits from the tattoo. For example, if the registration number on the Certificate of Registration is “C/W00555” the tattoo may be shortened to CW555.

The tattoo will be used as the official method of identification for the sheep.

It is recommended that the sheep’s left ear be tattooed or tagged with its private flock (eartag number).

Farm (Flock) Name
The Farm name, or flock name is, as it implies the name of your farm or flock.

Prefix
A shortened unique version of the farm name or “PREFIX” is used by the owner of the ewe to register lamb(s) born in the subject flock. This unique prefix will appear on the Certificate of Registry of the lamb and along with the ear tag number will identify the animal. Examples would be as follows: Farm Name – “Old MacDonald’s Farm”, Prefix -“MacDonald”. An example of the sheep’s ID would be “MacDonald 123”. A list of registered prefixes is maintained by the Cotswold Breeders Association.

Certificate of Breeding
When a ewe is sold as a “bred ewe”, that is, after she is bred but before the lambs are born, the seller of the ewe shall supply the owner with a Certificate of Breeding listing the month of breeding, and the farm name, ear tag number, and Association registration number of the ram used for this breeding.

Artificial Insemination
Cotswold sheep born as a result of artificially inseminating the ewe, may be registered in CBA. If lambs are born as a result of Artificial Insemination, indicate “AI” in the “Type of Birth” column on the registration application form.

If the breeder does not own the ram used to artificially inseminate the ewe, a Certificate of Breeding must be completed at the time the semen was collected, or by the owner of the semen. All other information required by CBA must be supplied on the registration application for the lambs to be registered.

Embryo Transplant
Applications for lambs born as a result of embryo transplant may be submitted just as if the lambs were natural born. If a lamb was born as a result of embryo transplant indicate “ET” in the “Type of Birth” column on the registration application form.

Donor ewes used in an embryo transplant MUST be registered in the Cotswold Breeders Association.

The owner of the donor ewe will be listed as the breeder on the certificate of registration issued for lambs born as a result of embryo transplant. If embryos are sold, the lamb born must be transferred from the owner of the donor ewe to the purchaser of the embryo.

If the breeder does not own the ram used to fertilize the egg(s) of the donor ewe, a Certificate of Breeding must be completed, signed and dated by the owner of the ram. All other information required by the CBA must be supplied on the registration application for the lambs to be registered.

Transfers
Any member selling, donating, giving away, or otherwise passing ownership of a registered Cotswold sheep shall, within 30 days after payment in full or other official transfer of the ownership, issue to the new owner a transfer. This transfer is initiated by completing all the information requested on the back of the registration certificate including the purchaser’s name, member number (if known), address, city, state, zip code, and day, month and year of the sale. The owner of the animal as recorded in CBA records, must provided a written signature authorizing the transfer.

The certificate, with completed transfer information, is then forwarded by the seller to the REGISTRAR of the Cotswold Breeders Association for recording of the transfer and new owner.