Why Icelandic Sheep ?
	We researched sheep, and being new at raising this species, we decided we needed hardy sheep. This narrowed our search dramatically. We attended a weekend seminar at Frelsi Farm in Limerick, Maine with Elaine Clark and David Patterson and were absolutely sold on the breed!

Icelandic sheep are not only beautiful, they are versatile. Even their fleeces are versatile,with the tog (outer coat which is longer and stronger)and the thel (the downey inner coat). These fibers can be used independently or together and are easily spun into many types of wool. Lopi is the traditional yarn made with both the tog and the thel. This yarn makes the traditional Icelandic sweaters.

The pureness of this breed, and the land from which they came made natural selection of the best and hardiest sheep. These traits continue to be apparent today. Icelandics thrive on pasture and love the scrubby growth that none else but goats will browse. We rarely fed grain or corn, and usually do so to keep our sheep friendly.

As a midwife by profession, I revel in the April births of the lambs. I don't know why they can't be more like rabbits and birth a month or so after breeding! It seems like it takes FOREVER for 145 days or so to pass before we get new lambs. We are like kids at Christmas, counting the days and looking for signs in our ewes. For two years now, Walt and I have diligently attended the births of our lambies. We are not disappointed that in these two years, we have not had to assist with deliveries. It is nature that things do not always go well and we know the time will come when we may have to intervene, but we are truly thankful that our first two years have given us confidence in our sheep as excellent birthers, reliable twinners, and marvelous mothers. The fact that they deliver later in the spring also appealed to us. April is a fine month to birth and rarely are either sheep or people needing to seek indoor birthing accomodations during this time.

Our sheep love to be outside and we let them be there. Except in the rainiest, wet weather, the sheep are outside as they choose. We provide them with shelter and shade, but I believe their ability to withstand harsh conditions and love of the outdoors only improves their fleeces and keeps them clean.

We have sold some lambs for meat, and although they are on the smallish size, we have heard nothing but rave reviews from customers on the flavor of the meat. We raise them as naturally as possible without antibiotics on pasture without creep feed. They grow by leaps and bounds on their mother's milk and then finish on pasture.

Icelandic sheep may also be used for milk production. They are tremendous milk producers. Our sheep ladies have udders that make holsteins jealous. If dairy sheep are your interest, these are your kind of girls!

Aren't they a little bit pricey?

Yep, you'll pay a bit more for these versatile little sheep, but the pay back in little to no veterinary services, in the prolificy of breeding and lambing, and in the survival rate of lambs, quickly makes up the differece for the price of these wonderful sheep. We began with six ewes, one ram and one wether. Two years later we have twenty three sheep in our flock and we sold six.(We did buy one other ram). Next year we will be bursting at the seams and probably at maximum capacity for us.

What about the fleece?

We are continually in awe of the color and texture of the fleeces. Fall is here, the shearer will come in a month and all of that lovely fiber will be used. Icelandic sheep come in a variety of colors and color patterns. A year ago, our white ram, Fred (whom we thought might carry color, didn't carry it very far) produced a gorgeous crop of white lambs. At first we were a little disappointed, then we found dye...oooh, lala. White is good! The color of the sheep tends to be different year to year as well. Our current sheep are colored black, gray, gray moorit, mooorit, white and a combination of each. The fleece is long, usually longer than 6 inches in the fall. There is not a lot of crimp, but this does not mean that the fleece is not a hand spinner's delight! The rovings spin beautifully, the yarn is lusterous, and warm. Above is a picture of an Icelandic sweater made from our sheep's fleece, in just the colors from our sheep.This sweater is a bit big for the model, but you get the idea! When our sweaters are sold we include a tag with pictures of the sheep from which the yarn was made. People occasionally stop by the farm to see the sheep that provided with their wonderful sweaters. Our friend, Tim is still looking for the "blue sheep"....we forgot to tell him about the dye!

What if I don't spin or knit?

Well.....you should learn and be addicted like the rest of us! Only kidding. This type of fleece is wonderful for felting. It felts quickly and well. In the picture is my 12 year old son wearing a hat he recently made for leadline competition at our County fair. The fiber is from our gray sheep, May. Another felted hat, from Oscar's fleece (moorit wether) made it to the State fair from the County fair. The hat bands were hand spun and woven on an inkel loom and a feather was plucked from the poultry barn to accentuate the beauty and style of the fedora.