Icelandic Sheep
History and Background
The modern Icelandic Sheep is a direct descendant of the sheep brought to the island by the early Viking settlers, in the ninth and tenth century. It is of the North European Short Tailed type, related to such breeds as the Finnsheep, Romanov, Shetland, Spelsau sheep and the Swedish Landrace, all of which are descendants of this type of sheep which was predominate in Scandinavia and the British Isles during 8th and 9th century. Of these the Icelandic and the Romanov are the largest, classified as medium size.
Very few attempts have been made to "improve" the Icelandic sheep through the centuries with outside crossings. The few attempts that were made, resulted in disasters brought on by diseases brought in by the "new blood". As a result producers drastically culled all animals which were results of crossbreeding. As a consequence all effect of other breeds was eliminated. It is now illegal to import any sheep into Iceland. As a result of these factors improvements to the breed have been done by selective breeding within the breed itself. Genetically the Icelandic sheep is the same today as it was 1100 years ago. It is possibly the oldest and purest domesticated breed of sheep in the world today.
Temperament
The Icelandic breed is not a docile breed. They are alert and fast on their feet. Most of them are very individualistic and flocking instinct is poor. They tend to spread out which makes them good users of sparse pasture. They are good browsers and seem to enjoy eating brush and wild grasses. The ewes are good mothers and high milk producers which is not surprising considering they were also used as milk animals until the middle of the twentieth century. Some are nervous but when they get to know their shepherd they can get quite friendly.
Meat Production
The breed is famous for its wool around the world, but in Iceland it is bred almost exclusively for meat. More than 80% of the income from them in Iceland is from meat. Though the lambs are born small, they grow fairly fast. On good pastures they should reach 80-90 lbs in 4-5 months, at which time they are weaned. The average growth rate is 250-300 g/day (10-12 oz/day). These lambs are not fed any extra grain or creep feed but are slaughtered straight off mountain pastures. Dressing percentage is around 45%. The meat is fine grained and has excellent flavor.
Wool Production
Even though the wool counts for little of the income from sheep in Iceland (less than 15%) it is the wool for which they are known. The fleece has an inner and outer coat typical of the more primitive breeds, with the fine undercoat being called Thel and the long coarser outercoat called Tog. The fleeces are open and not very greasy. The average fleece weighs 4-5 lbs. in the grease. Due to the length of fiber, the openness of the wool, the natural colors and the versatility, fleeces are usually sold through specialty markets to handspinners. The thel is springy, lustrous and soft. The longer tog coat is similar to mohair, wavy or corkscrewed rather than crimped and is wonderful in worsted spinning. The natural colors vary from snow white through several shades of grey to pitch black as well as several shades of moorit to brownish black. Icelandics can also come in white, mouflon and badgerface patterns with several combinations of color and patterns possible. Spotted individuals are also fairly common.
Skins
The skin of the Icelandic sheep is excellent as a pelt skin. This is in part due to how relatively few hair follicles they have. Fashion clothing, mostly coats, have long been manufactured from the pelts. These items usually demand a high price on the world market. The skins are also sold as sheepskin rugs that are absolutely gorgeous.
