|
Our Available Icelandic Sheep and Our
Fleece
Icelandic Sheep for Sale 2009
Due to a very early arrival of snow from the beginning of November on, and once again a very long winter forecast (this being accurate as we still have two feet of snow on all fields and it snowed all day Tuesday and Wednesday), once again we decided to put our breeding ram in later rather than earlier and used our black and white spotted ram carrying the moufflon gene with our grey ram as the cleanup ram.
We expect lambs starting at the end of April and while we have some already spoken for, please contact us if you would like to be put on a waiting list and pictures will be posted on our website of those lambs that are available.
Icelandic Sheep for Sale 2008
We have been breeding Icelandic sheep now for ten years and have enjoyed having them immensely. They are a very versatile breed, used at one time in Iceland 80% for food,
and provide excellent meat. They are a breed that can be milked and in Iceland a very typical thick yogurt - skyr -is made from sheeps' milk, also butter and cheese, and of course their fleece is known world wide as the Lopi knitting wool, also is very appealing to hand spinners and felters. Their skins are also a highly desirable, warm and cuddly addition for sheepskin lovers! Then there are the annual lambs for sale - particularly appealing is the fact that they have very tiny tails, which don't need docking!
|
I regret not getting pictures up on our website of the rams and ewes that we had for sale in 2008. I'm waiting for final confirmation, but believe that all our "For Sale" sheep are now spoken for.
We will be putting our grey ram in with our ewes at the end of October this year (2008), planning to have earlier lambing next year. Then we will use our ram from Audur in Alberta, who carries the moufflon gene, as our backup ram.
|
Please contact us if you might be interested in any sheep.
Icelandic Sheep Fleece for Sale 2008
|
With earlier lambing next year (2009), we hope to be able to work in two shearings, one at the end of March and one at the end of September before winter sets in.
The dual coat of Icelandic sheep fleece is soft and lustrous, comes in white, oatmeal, several shades of brown and
greys, and black. Icelandic sheep fleece also comes in many pattern combinations.
|
The soft undercoat is called the thel, with a spinning count of 64-70 and a micron count of 19-22, growing to a length of from 2"-4". The thel gives the loft for the outer coat and provides insulation for the sheep. Thel is similar to cashmere.
The tog is the outer coat and is coarser and longer than the thel. It has a spinning count of 50-60 and a micron count of 27-30 and on average grows to a length of 6"-8" between shearings. Tog is actual wool and not guard hair, and is similar to mohair.
The combination of thel and tog provide excellent insulation from the weather for the sheep. For many years the sheep were always outside in Iceland, hence the need for good insulation to survive.
Icelandic sheep fleeces are excellent for felting, which is becoming a very popular use of the fleece as the felted wool lends itself to many varied products.
The average adult Icelandic fleece weighs 4-7 lbs. and is very low in lanolin, accounting for the comparatively light weight. The two coats can be spun together or separately, depending on the projected end use. The ease of spinning Icelandic wool makes it a favourite with hand spinners.
Please check our Website for the listing of the fleece for sale following shearing.
|
