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About the BreedIcelanders from the very beginning survived their cold, windy, rainy, hostile land by fishing and living on the products from its multi-purpose animals. No animal was more important to the survival of these early settlers than the hardy sheep they brought with them 1,100 years ago from Europe. This breed was brought to Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries by Viking settlers and has remained virtually unchanged from that time. The Icelandic sheep is related to the Shetland, Finn and Romanoff, and is the largest of these breeds with ewes averaging 155 pounds and rams 210 pounds. What interested us in this breed was that it was developed to grow and thrive on grass alone. Because of Iceland's cold and rainy climate, grain was rarely grown and sheep were wintered on hay alone. A perfect breed to introduce to our pasture! Because their gestation is five days shorter than most sheep breeds, the lambs are born small, averaging five pounds, a throwback to their more primitive ancestors. Having small lambs avoids many of the lambing problems associated with difficult births. The lambs, though small, are not sluggish and weak, but jump right up in minutes, run to the udder and nurse. Icelandic sheep are a meat breed, bred for fine-textured, light flavored meat without the muttony flavor.FleeceIcelandic sheep produce the most versatile fleece in the sheep world. They have a dual-coated fleece that measures 27 microns, or 45's on the spinning count. The long, soft outer coat, called tog, can grow to 18 inches in length in one year. The inner coat, called thel, is soft, fine and downy and grows to about 3 inches. The two coats can be spun together to make a wool suitable for sweaters, socks, weaving, or just about anything else. The two fibers can be easily separated at home. The thel is fine and soft enough for baby clothes. The tog is long-wearing and the Icelandic people used it for saddle blankets, sails for their boats, and knitted socks that were worn on the outside of their sheepskin boots to provide a sturdy cover. Tog was also used for thread and embroidery work. Both fibers are lustrous and soft to handle. Icelandic sheep come in all colors including snow white, cream champagne, all shades of tans, browns ranging from cinnamons to milk chocolate, blacks from inky black, blue blacks, brown blacks, and all shades of gray. The range of natural colors along with the versatile dual coat makes this fleece a handspinner's dream. It is also one of the best fleeces for felting projects. The long tog fibers provide a network or structure for the finer fibers to felt around. The result is a soft, lustrous, supple felt in beautiful natural colors. Fleece and yarn from our Icelandic Sheep is available at the Argyle Fiber Mill, located at 200 E. Milwaukee St. in Argyle, WI. Breeding Stock for SaleOur Breeding Stock page is currently under construction, so check back soon for more information! Lamb for SaleWe will be processing lamb in October, so please visit our Ordering Page for more information. Or, feel free to contact Eric and Carrie Johnson by email if you have any questions: jordandal@tds.net. |
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