Flat Creek Wool and Pottery Home of Icelandic Sheep, their wool, and the pottery they have inspired |
| Icelandic Sheep |
There are a lot of reasons to choose Icelandics, but I'll start out by telling you why we chose Icelandic sheep for our farm. The first and foremost reason was what I had read about their hardiness. They also do well on grass pastures and grass hay so that was a plus! Secondly, they are great mothers. Our Icelandics lamb out in the pastures in the spring. Occasionally a ewe will go to the barn to have her lambs, but they generally lamb in the field. We have had very limited occasions where we have needed to assist with lambing. Icelandics have a naturally short tail, so no tail-docking! Icelandics are considered a primitive breed of sheep. While Icelandics are a triple-purpose breed (milk, meat and wool) the selling point for us was their beautiful wool. Icelandics come in a variety of colors and patterns and being a primitive breed, their wool is dual coated. The wool can be separated and spun separately, or it can be spun together to make the "lopi" style of yarn. Their wool is also known for it's felting properties and is great for needle felting and wet felting. What I did not know prior to owning our sheep, was how much personality they have! And possibly it is like this with every breed, but I was quite taken by the different personalities. We have many that will come looking for a treat, others that come just for a chin rub, and there's Alice - who is so untrusting of us that she won't eat if we're around. Yes, they all have names,(well, up until the 2011 lambs, they've been given numbers this year) but regardless of their destination, they're part of our family while they're with us. These are just a few qualities of Icelandics, but were some of the key factors in our decision to add Icelandics to our farm. We are members of ISBONA. We are also enrolled in the voluntary scrapie program. We currently participate in the Ky Sheep and Fiber festival located in Lexington, KY and the Ky Wool Festival in Falmouth, Ky. (click on the following links for more information on our local fiber festivals) |
| For a more detailed description of the Icelandic Breed of sheep, check out the ISBONA Fact Sheet |
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