The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2007, Blaðsíða 19

Vol. 61 #1
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
17
Icelandics twice a year. Shearing at or
around the time of the natural break is rec-
ommended to remove the "old" coat before
the "new" coat grows in. The sheep are
sheared again in the fall to harvest the
fleeces before the animals go on hay for the
winter. These fall-shorn fleeces are very
soft and clean and can bring a premium
price per pound. The two coats can be sep-
arated by hand for special projects, or they
may be processed together. The traditional
lopi is a lightly spun blend of tog and thel.
Thel is very soft and downy, with an irreg-
ular crimp and can be used for baby gar-
ments, and for the fine shawls in the style
of the Wedding Shawl. The tog is similar to
mohair; wavy or corkscrewed rather than
crimped and is wonderful in worsted spin-
ning. The versatility of the wool, the ease of
spinning and the wide variation of tones
and colours are a true delight to handspin-
ners, and put Icelandic wool into the exot-
ic or premium category. It is also known as
one of the best fleeces for felting, which is
fast gaining popularity in the craft commu-
nity.
Hat made from Icelandic sheep fleece.
Milk
Icelandic ewes easily support twins
and many raise triplets without assistance.
In North America, they are used for per-
sonal milk production by many shepherds
for yogurt and soap. Some farms are mak-
ing gourmet artisan cheeses. There are a
few operations milking more than 25
sheep, but long-term production records
are not yet available. Crossing Icelandic
sheep with commercial dairy breeds is also
being investigated. For personal use, it is
possible to allow lambs to continue to
nurse while milking once per day, without
sacrificing lamb growth.
Pelts
The pelt of the Icelandic sheep is beau-
tiful, lustrous, soft and luxurious, in a
delightful range of colours and patterns.
The relatively low number of follicles per
square millimeter, a count of 12 rather than
the 53-87 of the Merino sheep, for example,
makes the pelt soft and flexible. These pelts
command a high price in that niche market.
Registration
In North America, Icelandic sheep are
only registered through the Canadian
Livestock Records Corporation, known as
the CLRC. Registrations can be done via
surface mail, or electronically, and requires
tattooing the sheep in a manner accepted
by the CLRC. The Icelandic Sheep
Breeders of North America (ISBONA)
organization formed in 1996 for the educa-
tion of the public and for the education and
fellowship of the Icelandic Sheep breeders.
As defined by the by-laws of ISBONA, the
breed association recognizes the registry of
Icelandic sheep only through the CLRC.
Leadersheep
The only breed of sheep in Iceland is
the native North European Short Tailed
sheep brought there by the settlers, the
Vikings, 1100-1200 years ago. Without
them Icelanders would not have survived
throughout centuries of hardship on an iso-
lated island just south of the Arctic Circle.
Even grazing in winter had to be utilized to
the utmost and somehow a unique, small
population of sheep developed which dis-
played outstanding abilities to help the
farmers and shepherds to manage the flock
on pasture, namely leadersheep. Although
farming practices have changed and thus
also the role of these highly intelligent
sheep with special alertness and leadership