| The AFTER OR COMING BACK TO LIFE |
This is the part you may not know about; how the desire to raise
picture-perfect animals made us rouse ourselves, shake off The Blues,
and work to try and make our farm the perfect frame.
BUT FIRST (and HIGHLY recommended) I read everything I could
find about Icelandic sheep and how to care for them. Two of the finest
sources of information for me were The Lavender Fleece and Tongue
River Farms. I found both shepherds to be honest and thorough in
dispensing their accumulated knowledge. I also went to the Southram
Station website (links on the ISBONA site under "Resources") and read
everything I could about Iceland genetics, carcass grading, and overall
performance measurements. I learned about the AI Super Rams, and
read lots and lots of pedigrees (find these in the CLRC registry, also a
link on ISBONA). I went and looked at as many flocks of Icelandics
as I could reasonably drive to, and discovered that there's a lot of
variation in size and quality in the North American flocks. I went to a
Fiber Festival to see just what was involved in producing a marketable
fleece. I learned about health issues; why breeders use biosecurity to
prevent such diseases as OPP, CL, and Scrapie. I also found out that F1
generation lambs (those from an AI sire) could only be sold into a flock
that was registered with the Federal Scrapie Program.
This is no longer true, but if you want to participate, be sure you enroll
your flock in the voluntary certified program - the mandatory program
can't get you export status! I also learned that you had to have animals
and be enrolled before you could bring an F1 animal home. This meant
that we had to get our flock started right away, and get all the
paperwork done so that I could bring in the bloodlines that I wanted.
picture-perfect animals made us rouse ourselves, shake off The Blues,
and work to try and make our farm the perfect frame.
BUT FIRST (and HIGHLY recommended) I read everything I could
find about Icelandic sheep and how to care for them. Two of the finest
sources of information for me were The Lavender Fleece and Tongue
River Farms. I found both shepherds to be honest and thorough in
dispensing their accumulated knowledge. I also went to the Southram
Station website (links on the ISBONA site under "Resources") and read
everything I could about Iceland genetics, carcass grading, and overall
performance measurements. I learned about the AI Super Rams, and
read lots and lots of pedigrees (find these in the CLRC registry, also a
link on ISBONA). I went and looked at as many flocks of Icelandics
as I could reasonably drive to, and discovered that there's a lot of
variation in size and quality in the North American flocks. I went to a
Fiber Festival to see just what was involved in producing a marketable
fleece. I learned about health issues; why breeders use biosecurity to
prevent such diseases as OPP, CL, and Scrapie. I also found out that F1
generation lambs (those from an AI sire) could only be sold into a flock
that was registered with the Federal Scrapie Program.
This is no longer true, but if you want to participate, be sure you enroll
your flock in the voluntary certified program - the mandatory program
can't get you export status! I also learned that you had to have animals
and be enrolled before you could bring an F1 animal home. This meant
that we had to get our flock started right away, and get all the
paperwork done so that I could bring in the bloodlines that I wanted.
Our first girls came from Jordandal Farms in Argyle, Wisconsin. Since
my goal was to have sheep on the farm to qualify for the Scrapie Program, I
didn't really care what we bought, as long as they had horns and were CLRC
registered. Carrie only had a few animals for sale, as she was expanding her
flock to accommodate her growing gourmet meat business. From the ewes
that she had available, we chose a black grey, a moorit grey, and a set of twin
lambs, moorit and moorit spotted. As it turns out, we did much better than
we had a right to, given the fact that I had yet to spend time learning the
difference between an average animal and a superior one (check out "How
does your flock compare?" on The Lavender Fleece website). Our Fab Four,
though not quite Southram quality, were nice gals with bloodlines worth
keeping in the flock. One thing for sure - purchase the best animals you can
afford: You won't always be fortunate enough to find a "Carrie".
Remember, too, that breeding unimproved ewes to exceptional rams can
bring an average flock up to par in no time. We had tremendous results our
first season due for the most part to our foundation herdsires.
my goal was to have sheep on the farm to qualify for the Scrapie Program, I
didn't really care what we bought, as long as they had horns and were CLRC
registered. Carrie only had a few animals for sale, as she was expanding her
flock to accommodate her growing gourmet meat business. From the ewes
that she had available, we chose a black grey, a moorit grey, and a set of twin
lambs, moorit and moorit spotted. As it turns out, we did much better than
we had a right to, given the fact that I had yet to spend time learning the
difference between an average animal and a superior one (check out "How
does your flock compare?" on The Lavender Fleece website). Our Fab Four,
though not quite Southram quality, were nice gals with bloodlines worth
keeping in the flock. One thing for sure - purchase the best animals you can
afford: You won't always be fortunate enough to find a "Carrie".
Remember, too, that breeding unimproved ewes to exceptional rams can
bring an average flock up to par in no time. We had tremendous results our
first season due for the most part to our foundation herdsires.
Since our Jordandal lambs weren't weaned yet, we had two months to
whip our farm into shape, three months before the balance of the flock was
due to arrive. Thirteen junk cars later, we realized that we had a titanic job on
our hands. No time to sit around and brood; no time for aches and pains, no
time to relax in front the tube; no time for sleeping late!!! The troops rallied,
and before we knew it, we were mowing burdock and pigweed, setting fence
posts, stretching woven wire, shoveling out barns, building loafing sheds, and
setting lots of bonfires (Buddys' speciality).
Everyone in our family pitched in to help make our Icelandic business a
success: My husband, Tom, provided so much muscle cleaning, constructing,
loading, unloading, sheep wrangling, and fence-stretching - he might not have
been making money, but he sure was working! Our oldest daughter, Heather,
helped with painting, marking fiberglass fence posts and designing these web
pages. Her husband, Pat, used his days off from the Marine Corp to help with
fencing and brush removal. Our oldest son, Evan, helped out with building
materials and moral support. Buddy is a partner in this enterprise, and he's
going to be a shepherd, whether he grows up or not! He has had hands-on in
every project we've undertaken to get our place back on its feet, and often
beats us out the door in the morning. It's not work if it's something you love.
Our youngest daughter, Kelsey, baby-sits for our grand daughters Aubrianna
and Talia when necessary, and keeps the house livable while we're mucking
around in the barn. Our youngest son, Tyler, is on weed patrol and
fire-stirring duty, not to mention handling the job of Step and Fetch It with
good humor. Grandma Jean (the silent one)keeps us going with great
marketing ideas and infusions of tax-deductible funds when necessary. She
even taught me how to knit!
We have some friends who have come out and donated time to work on
fence and general clean-up: James Steele, weed-puller and general
de-construction expert, dug a 4'X4' hole by hand to find out why our water
was leaking, and calls several times a week to ask after "The Girls". Timmy
Worley, who can barely see a hand in front of his face, spent hours pounding
nails out of boards - all by feel. Thanks also goes to Roger Wills, his wife
Joyce, and his mother Doris for providing us with equipment, dinners, and
good solid companionship.
There is no way to measure the magic that having these sheep has brought
into our experience. Every person wants to feel like they're a part of
something bigger...
If you let them, Icelandic sheep can SuperSize your life!
whip our farm into shape, three months before the balance of the flock was
due to arrive. Thirteen junk cars later, we realized that we had a titanic job on
our hands. No time to sit around and brood; no time for aches and pains, no
time to relax in front the tube; no time for sleeping late!!! The troops rallied,
and before we knew it, we were mowing burdock and pigweed, setting fence
posts, stretching woven wire, shoveling out barns, building loafing sheds, and
setting lots of bonfires (Buddys' speciality).
Everyone in our family pitched in to help make our Icelandic business a
success: My husband, Tom, provided so much muscle cleaning, constructing,
loading, unloading, sheep wrangling, and fence-stretching - he might not have
been making money, but he sure was working! Our oldest daughter, Heather,
helped with painting, marking fiberglass fence posts and designing these web
pages. Her husband, Pat, used his days off from the Marine Corp to help with
fencing and brush removal. Our oldest son, Evan, helped out with building
materials and moral support. Buddy is a partner in this enterprise, and he's
going to be a shepherd, whether he grows up or not! He has had hands-on in
every project we've undertaken to get our place back on its feet, and often
beats us out the door in the morning. It's not work if it's something you love.
Our youngest daughter, Kelsey, baby-sits for our grand daughters Aubrianna
and Talia when necessary, and keeps the house livable while we're mucking
around in the barn. Our youngest son, Tyler, is on weed patrol and
fire-stirring duty, not to mention handling the job of Step and Fetch It with
good humor. Grandma Jean (the silent one)keeps us going with great
marketing ideas and infusions of tax-deductible funds when necessary. She
even taught me how to knit!
We have some friends who have come out and donated time to work on
fence and general clean-up: James Steele, weed-puller and general
de-construction expert, dug a 4'X4' hole by hand to find out why our water
was leaking, and calls several times a week to ask after "The Girls". Timmy
Worley, who can barely see a hand in front of his face, spent hours pounding
nails out of boards - all by feel. Thanks also goes to Roger Wills, his wife
Joyce, and his mother Doris for providing us with equipment, dinners, and
good solid companionship.
There is no way to measure the magic that having these sheep has brought
into our experience. Every person wants to feel like they're a part of
something bigger...
If you let them, Icelandic sheep can SuperSize your life!