We initially started with Icelandic sheep in 2006. We
chose them for several reasons. They are a medium-sized breed,
with a long dual-coated fleece that comes in many color/pattern
combinations. They are known for being easy lambers and good
mothers. They can do very well on good pasture or hay alone,
without need for supplementation. Lambs can finish on good
pasture. They are naturally short tailed, so no tail docking,
and the ram lambs will grow to finished size before breeding
season begins, so no castrating is necessary. They are seasonal
breeders, like deer, coming into heat in the fall and lambing in
the spring. We raise horned Icelandics primarily, but they also
come polled.
They are not perfect however (hard to believe!) in that they
are very susceptible to barberpole worm (Haemonchus contortus),
which is a blood-sucking parasite that can kill if a sheep gets
a heavy worm load. The worms can become resistant to wormers
used indiscrimately, so we use the FAMACHA
method, and only worm individuals when necessary. We also of
course select breeding stock which show some natural resistance.
In Iceland, where this breed developed, they have few or no
stomach parasites, so natural selection for resistance did not
happen. In North America we must do our own selection, and many
breeders are having great success. We have been fairly fortunate
in the years since we started, losing very few sheep to
barberpole, but of course battling the other effects of
barberpole which are slower growth and productivity.
For the last few years we have been breeding purebred registered
Icelandics with the goal of producing and selling quality
breeding stock. However, it's become apparent that we do not
have the amount and quality of pasture that we'd need to raise
enough sheep to make the strictest culling choices, and still
have a good selection of sheep left over to breed on. And
selling breeding stock has not been easy for us, especially with
the economy as it has been, and the number of "cheap sheep" that
one can find on places like craigslist and other online forums.
While we can sell meat lambs and some wool, it was not enough to
justify keeping a larger number of sheep. We were finding that
spending a lot of time stressing over our flock and spending
more money than necessary was counterproductive to our sanity
and finances. So as of the beginning of 2013 we have decided to
scale back to just what we can use ourselves for meat and wool.
We also decided to bring in some Gulf Coast sheep to our
homestead. This is a breed native to the U.S., having developed
over time from the initial Merino-type sheep brought here by the
early explorers. They underwent severe natural selection
processes in the humid southeastern U.S. but the result was a
landrace breed of sheep that is extremely hardy and naturally
resistant to barberpole worm, that can tolerate heat and
humidity well (which we do get, even up here in NH) and are also
easy lambers and good mothers. They are also another mid-sized
breed. We knew of a breeder who had kept both Icelandics and
Gulf Coast sheep and did some cross breeding, and found that the
offspring had better parasite resistance than the purebred
Icelandics, as well as better growth, and a fleece more like the
Icelandic, which made beautiful pelts. He felt it was a
win-win-win for meat lamb production. So we decided to add this
breed, and in 2012 bought a half sibling pair. The ram was put
with one of our Icelandic ewes, and the GC ewe will be put with
an Icelandic ram when she is big enough to breed. We look
forward to the results!
