Icelandic Sheep will do anything for a biscuit
Icelandic Sheep are good, hardy sheep with a wonderful fleece. They are medium sized, with ewes around 50kg. They are lovely to look at with delicate faces and beautiful eyes, they can be horned or polled (no horns). Icelandic Sheep give us a real link with our past, as these are very similar to the sheep the Vikings would have had.
Icelandic Sheep are not very common in the UK, but are the predominant breed in Iceland. They are prized for their fine fleece which makes a wonderful wool for knitting, crochet and art.
Icelandic Sheep come in a variety of colours and hues, we have white, an off white grey and black. All of these colours spin very well. The fleece is particularly suited to making very fine vegan sheepskin rugs or wall hangings. Icelandic sheep can have straight or curly fleeces.
Our Icelandic sheep are wonderful mothers, with an abundance of milk. The lambs are slower growing than a commercial sheep, but the flavour is rich and delicious.
The sheep have a good diet of native British Grasses, Scottish Wildflowers, and some tasty Heather. They will happily follow you around the field in the hope you will give them some sheep nuts as a treat. They will knock you over if they think you have a digestive biscuit!
History of Icelandic Sheep
Icelandic sheep originate from Iceland. They are from the same family of sheep as Shetlands and, like Shetlands, are believed to have been introduced by the Vikings. Icelandic Sheep have changed very little since Viking times, when their fleece would have been highly prized as a source of clothing.
Icelandic Fleece Characteristics
Icelandic fleece is fine, supple and with plenty of natural lanolin, you hands will thank you for choosing it.
The fleece is a medium size, around 1.2kg once skirted.
The fleece has long outer fibres, which are wonderful for spinning.
Of all our breeds the Icelandic Sheep produces the best for felting.