The Icelandic sheep is one of the world's
oldest and purest breeds of sheep. Throughout its 1100 years of
history, the Icelandic breed has been truly triple-purpose,
treasured for its meat, fiber and milk.
The Icelandic breed is in the North European short-tailed group
of sheep, which exhibits a fluke-shaped, naturally short tail.
To ensure the continuing purity of the breed, tail docking an
Icelandic will disqualify it from being registered in North
America. Icelandics are a mid-sized breed with ewes averaging
130-160 pounds, and rams averaging 180-220 pounds. Conformation
is generally short legged and stocky. The face and legs are free
of wool. The fleece is dual-coated and comes in white as well as
a range of browns, grays and blacks. There are both horned and
polled strains. Left unshorn for the winter, the breed is very
cold hardy.
The Icelandic sheep produces a premium
fleece. The fleece is dual coated, with a fine, soft undercoat
called thel and a longer, coarser outer coat called tog. The tog
fiber with a spinning count of 56-60 and a micron count of
27-30, grows to a length of 6-8" in six months. It is lustrous,
strong, water- and wear-resistant, and sheds off the rain and
weather. Thel is the soft downy undercoat, with a spinning count
of 64-70 and a micron count of 19-22, growing to a length of
2-4". The thel provides the loft for the outer coat and
insulation for the sheep. Tog grows from the primary hair
follicles and the thel from the secondary follicles. Tog is a
true wool, and is not a kemp or guard hair. The combination of
the two fibers on the sheep gives superb protection from the
cold and wet.
Icelandic fleeces are open and low in lanolin. The weight loss
when washed is significantly less than many other breeds.
Here are some our Icelandic sheep-
babies now born, scroll down!
our sheep are purebred and are tongue river
bloodlines.
