Icelandic sheep
Encyclopedia
The Icelandic sheep is a breed of domestic sheep
. The Icelandic breed is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep
, which exhibit a fluke-shaped, naturally short tail. The Icelandic is a mid-sized breed, generally short legged and stocky, with face and legs free of wool
. The fleece of the Icelandic sheep is dual-coated and comes in white as well as a variety of other colors, including a range of browns, grays, and blacks. They exist in both horned
and polled strains. Generally left unshorn
for the winter, the breed is very cold-hardy. Multiple births are very common in Icelandic ewes, with a lambing percentage of 175% - 220%. A gene
also exists in the breed called the Thoka gene, and ewes carrying it have been known to give birth to triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, and even sextuplets on occasion.
Ewes can be mated as lambs as early as five to seven months, although many farmers wait until the ewe's second winter before allowing them to breed. They are seasonal breeders and come into estrus around October. The breeding season can last up to four months. Rams become mature early and can start breeding as early as five months.
Descended from the same stock as the Norwegian Spelsau
, brought to Iceland
by the Viking
s, Icelandic sheep have been bred for a thousand years in a very harsh environment. Consequently, they are quite efficient herbivores.
s that affect the color of the sheep, and for each gene, there are dominant and recessive allele
s. Each lamb will receive one allele from each parent of each of the genes shown below.
There are several other patterns which will change the appearance of the color the animal shows. One of these is Gray, which together with the base color gene will give rise to either gray black or gray moorit. Another is Badgerface, which shows as lighter coloration on the back, sides, neck, ears and face, with a darker color on the underbelly, under the tail, parts of the neck and around the eyes. Once again, this pattern will show as either grey badgerface or moorit badgerface. A further pattern is Mouflon. These sheep will be light-colored where badgerface sheep are dark, and dark where badgerface sheep are light.
The gray, badgerface, and mouflon patterns are equally dominant. A sheep can display any of these patterns individually, or they can display two of them at the same time. Sheep carrying both Badgerface and Mouflon show as plain-coloured sheep with slightly darker markings where the two patterns meet.
There is also a single allele that is currently found only in Iceland
that displays as Gray Mouflon – it is separate from the normal Mouflon pattern. This single gene is dominant to all genes other than White.
The least dominant pattern is solid, which is essentially no pattern at all. Solid-patterned animals will simply show their base color all over. To be solid, a sheep must inherit the solid pattern from both parents – the parents could be solid themselves, or they could carry a solid allele hidden by another other pattern allele.
White sheep can also carry any one of the five other patterns, but it will be hidden by the dominant white color (note that white in sheep is genetically a pattern, not a color).
There are two alleles for spotting: spotted, and unspotted; unspotted is dominant. Only when bearing two spotting alleles will the sheep display spotting.
s. The lambs are ready for killing by four to five months, when they weigh 70 pound. The meat has a fine grain and distinct, delicate flavor. The meat of the Icelandic sheep is considered a gourmet style of meat.
Icelandic fleece is dual-coated. In Icelandic the long outer coat is called and the fine inner coat . When separated, the outer and inner coats are used for different woolen products.
Tog and thel are processed together to produce lopi
, a distinctive knitting wool that is only made from the fleece of Icelandic sheep.
. There is an 8-week period where Icelandic ewes give milk. After the first two weeks, the lambs were weaned off the mother's milk. Then for the next 6 weeks, the ewes would be milked daily. Most provided about 1 litres (1.8 imp pt) of milk per day, while good ewes gave 2 litres (3.5 imp pt) to 3 litres (5.3 imp pt).
The milk was used directly, or made into butter
, cheese
, an Icelandic soft cheese called , or naturally sweet yogurt
. Sheep milk is good for cheese, because it is high in fat and dissolved solids. A high yield of high-quality cheese can therefore be made from small amounts of the milk.
Sheep are not milked in Iceland today, and instead the lamb is allowed to continue suckling.
s come in many colors and are generally not dyed. The hide is quite soft and is generally 6 square foot (0.55741824 m²) to 8 square foot (0.74322432 m²) in size. Depending on whether the wool has been shorn, the wool can be up to 8 inches (203.2 mm) in length.
Dry-cleaning will strip the natural oils out of the skin and wool, rendering it scratchy and rough. Gentle wool cleaners are generally used to keep the sheepskins soft.
The sheepskins are used for mittens, gloves, hats and to upholster footstool
s. When stitched together, they are used for rugs and blankets. The variety of colors inherent within the sheep often makes articles made from Icelandic sheepskin
quite striking.
s, 1100–1200 years ago. Without them Icelanders would not have fared nearly so well through centuries of hardship on an isolated island just south of the Arctic Circle
. Sheep grazing in winter was one technique which had to be utilized in order to sustain the people of Iceland. As a result, a unique, small population of sheep developed which displayed outstanding abilities to help the farmers and shepherds manage the flock on pasture, namely the so-called leader-sheep . Although farming practices have changed and reduced their role, these highly intelligent sheep with special alertness and leadership characteristics still form a population of approximately 1000-1200 sheep within the total national sheep population of just under 500,000.
Most leader-sheep are colored and horned – even four-horned in a few cases. They have a slender body conformation, long legs and bones generally, yet of lighter weight than other sheep in the flock because they have been selected for intelligence, not for meat traits. Leader-sheep are graceful and prominent in the flock, with alertness in the eyes, normally going first out of the sheep-house, looking around in all directions, watching to see if there are dangers in sight and then walking in front of the flock when driven to or from pasture. They may even guard the flock against predators. There are many stories on record about their ability to sense or forecast changes in the weather, or refusing to leave the sheep-house before a major snowstorm.
In a quest to preserve the Icelandic leader-sheep, in April 2000 a group of interested individuals founded the Leader-Sheep Society of Iceland. Chief among their priorities is to improve the individual recording of these sheep throughout the country and to plan their breeding more effectively. It has been noted that the "best" leader-sheep have been found in flocks in northeastern Iceland, but farmers in all parts of the country are interested in their conservation. The society is also supported by people who do not keep sheep, because they feel that Icelandic sheep in general have a special role in Icelandic culture.
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
. The Icelandic breed is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep
Northern European short-tailed sheep
Northern European short-tailed sheep are a group of sheep breeds and landraces from the British Isles, Scandinavia, and the area around the Baltic. They are thought to be derived from the first sheep brought to Europe by early farmers...
, which exhibit a fluke-shaped, naturally short tail. The Icelandic is a mid-sized breed, generally short legged and stocky, with face and legs free of wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. The fleece of the Icelandic sheep is dual-coated and comes in white as well as a variety of other colors, including a range of browns, grays, and blacks. They exist in both horned
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
and polled strains. Generally left unshorn
Sheep shearing
Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year...
for the winter, the breed is very cold-hardy. Multiple births are very common in Icelandic ewes, with a lambing percentage of 175% - 220%. A gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
also exists in the breed called the Thoka gene, and ewes carrying it have been known to give birth to triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, and even sextuplets on occasion.
Ewes can be mated as lambs as early as five to seven months, although many farmers wait until the ewe's second winter before allowing them to breed. They are seasonal breeders and come into estrus around October. The breeding season can last up to four months. Rams become mature early and can start breeding as early as five months.
Descended from the same stock as the Norwegian Spelsau
Spelsau
The Spælsau is a breed of sheep from Norway. Many consider Spelsau to be the original breed of sheep in Norway, and it is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds. It is well adapted to the climate and was a domestic animal from the Iron Age...
, brought to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
by the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s, Icelandic sheep have been bred for a thousand years in a very harsh environment. Consequently, they are quite efficient herbivores.
Color Genetics
The colors of Icelandic sheep are inherited in a similar way to those of other sheep, but they display more variety in color and pattern than most other breeds, and there are some variations not seen in other sheep. Each sheep carries three geneGene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
s that affect the color of the sheep, and for each gene, there are dominant and recessive allele
Allele
An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus . "Allel" is an abbreviation of allelomorph. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation...
s. Each lamb will receive one allele from each parent of each of the genes shown below.
| Locus | Gene name | Dominant alleles | Recessive alleles |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | Base Color | black | brown (moorit) |
| A (agouti gene Agouti gene The Agouti gene is responsible for determining whether a mammal's coat is banded or of a solid color . The chief product of the Agouti gene is Agouti signalling peptide , but there are a number of alternative splice products.... ) |
Pattern | white (gray, badgerface, mouflon) | (gray, badgerface, mouflon) solid |
| S | Spotting | no spotting | spotting |
Color
The base color of all Icelandic sheep is either black or moorit (brown), each coming in a variety of shades and tones. Black is the dominant allele. The appearance of these colors can be altered by patterns and spotting.Pattern
There are six patterns alleles in the breed. The most dominant pattern of these is White, which will conceal any other pattern, color or spotting that may be present, producing a solid white sheep.There are several other patterns which will change the appearance of the color the animal shows. One of these is Gray, which together with the base color gene will give rise to either gray black or gray moorit. Another is Badgerface, which shows as lighter coloration on the back, sides, neck, ears and face, with a darker color on the underbelly, under the tail, parts of the neck and around the eyes. Once again, this pattern will show as either grey badgerface or moorit badgerface. A further pattern is Mouflon. These sheep will be light-colored where badgerface sheep are dark, and dark where badgerface sheep are light.
The gray, badgerface, and mouflon patterns are equally dominant. A sheep can display any of these patterns individually, or they can display two of them at the same time. Sheep carrying both Badgerface and Mouflon show as plain-coloured sheep with slightly darker markings where the two patterns meet.
There is also a single allele that is currently found only in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
that displays as Gray Mouflon – it is separate from the normal Mouflon pattern. This single gene is dominant to all genes other than White.
The least dominant pattern is solid, which is essentially no pattern at all. Solid-patterned animals will simply show their base color all over. To be solid, a sheep must inherit the solid pattern from both parents – the parents could be solid themselves, or they could carry a solid allele hidden by another other pattern allele.
White sheep can also carry any one of the five other patterns, but it will be hidden by the dominant white color (note that white in sheep is genetically a pattern, not a color).
Spotting
This gene gives rise to white markings on the feet, face, head or over large parts of the body. The unspotted areas may be any of the patterns and colors described above.There are two alleles for spotting: spotted, and unspotted; unspotted is dominant. Only when bearing two spotting alleles will the sheep display spotting.
Meat Production
In Iceland, this breed is almost exclusively bred for meat. Lambs are not fed grain or given hormoneHormone
A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...
s. The lambs are ready for killing by four to five months, when they weigh 70 pound. The meat has a fine grain and distinct, delicate flavor. The meat of the Icelandic sheep is considered a gourmet style of meat.
Fiber
Tog
Tog is generally classified as a medium wool around 27 micrometres in diameter. It is good for weaving and other durable products.Thel
Thel, being the finer wool and classified as such, is generally around 20 micrometres in diameter. This fine wool is used for garments that touch the skin.Tog and thel are processed together to produce lopi
Lopi
Lopi is knitting wool made from the fleece of Icelandic sheep. The fleece is made up of two layers, each with a different kind of wool. The wet-resistant outer coat contains long, coarse fibres, while the insulating layer beneath consists of soft, short fibres. These are processed together to...
, a distinctive knitting wool that is only made from the fleece of Icelandic sheep.
Milk
Historically Icelandic sheep were used for milkMilk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
. There is an 8-week period where Icelandic ewes give milk. After the first two weeks, the lambs were weaned off the mother's milk. Then for the next 6 weeks, the ewes would be milked daily. Most provided about 1 litres (1.8 imp pt) of milk per day, while good ewes gave 2 litres (3.5 imp pt) to 3 litres (5.3 imp pt).
The milk was used directly, or made into butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, an Icelandic soft cheese called , or naturally sweet yogurt
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...
. Sheep milk is good for cheese, because it is high in fat and dissolved solids. A high yield of high-quality cheese can therefore be made from small amounts of the milk.
Sheep are not milked in Iceland today, and instead the lamb is allowed to continue suckling.
Sheepskin
Icelandic sheepskinSheepskin
Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin or lambswool.Sheepskin may also refer to:* Parchment, a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin** Diploma, originally made of sheepskin...
s come in many colors and are generally not dyed. The hide is quite soft and is generally 6 square foot (0.55741824 m²) to 8 square foot (0.74322432 m²) in size. Depending on whether the wool has been shorn, the wool can be up to 8 inches (203.2 mm) in length.
Dry-cleaning will strip the natural oils out of the skin and wool, rendering it scratchy and rough. Gentle wool cleaners are generally used to keep the sheepskins soft.
The sheepskins are used for mittens, gloves, hats and to upholster footstool
Footstool
A footstool is a piece of furniture, the purpose of which is to support one's feet. There are two main types of footstools, which can be loosely categorized into two categories, those designed for comfort and those designed for function....
s. When stitched together, they are used for rugs and blankets. The variety of colors inherent within the sheep often makes articles made from Icelandic sheepskin
Sheepskin
Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin or lambswool.Sheepskin may also refer to:* Parchment, a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin** Diploma, originally made of sheepskin...
quite striking.
Breed history and leader-sheep
The only type of sheep in Iceland is the native northern European short-tailed sheep brought there by the settlers, the VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s, 1100–1200 years ago. Without them Icelanders would not have fared nearly so well through centuries of hardship on an isolated island just south of the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
. Sheep grazing in winter was one technique which had to be utilized in order to sustain the people of Iceland. As a result, a unique, small population of sheep developed which displayed outstanding abilities to help the farmers and shepherds manage the flock on pasture, namely the so-called leader-sheep . Although farming practices have changed and reduced their role, these highly intelligent sheep with special alertness and leadership characteristics still form a population of approximately 1000-1200 sheep within the total national sheep population of just under 500,000.
Most leader-sheep are colored and horned – even four-horned in a few cases. They have a slender body conformation, long legs and bones generally, yet of lighter weight than other sheep in the flock because they have been selected for intelligence, not for meat traits. Leader-sheep are graceful and prominent in the flock, with alertness in the eyes, normally going first out of the sheep-house, looking around in all directions, watching to see if there are dangers in sight and then walking in front of the flock when driven to or from pasture. They may even guard the flock against predators. There are many stories on record about their ability to sense or forecast changes in the weather, or refusing to leave the sheep-house before a major snowstorm.
In a quest to preserve the Icelandic leader-sheep, in April 2000 a group of interested individuals founded the Leader-Sheep Society of Iceland. Chief among their priorities is to improve the individual recording of these sheep throughout the country and to plan their breeding more effectively. It has been noted that the "best" leader-sheep have been found in flocks in northeastern Iceland, but farmers in all parts of the country are interested in their conservation. The society is also supported by people who do not keep sheep, because they feel that Icelandic sheep in general have a special role in Icelandic culture.