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Spring, and lambing.

    Icelandic ewes usually lamb 2 lambs each, but the number of lambs ranges between 1 and 4, and the biggest group ever was 6 lambs out of one ewe.  Often the weather is too bad in the spring for the sheep to have their lambs outdoors, the common thing is having them lamb inside the barns.  They stay there for 1-4 weeks, untill there is green grass to eat, and the lambs are healthy enough to survive.  Most farms have rather few sheep, a commercial sheep farmer in Iceland often has 250-400 heads.  So, every individual is valuable, but because of good care, and in spite of high fertility, the survival rate is high, if everything is allright it's usually only 1 in 50 lambs that dies.

A white with black cheeks ewe, now in wool, guarding her spotted (flekkótt) newborn lam, that is still wet.
C:  Lukka.

A black (svört) ewe with her black son.
C:  Lukka.

"I'm a moorit (mórauð) spotted lam, and I love people (even though it makes me harder to photo)".
C:  Lukka.

"Mooooommyyyy".
A yellow/pheomelanin (gul) lam.
Not very popular in the breeding of icelandic sheep, as the yellow wool is hard to dye, but cool looking.
C:  Lukka.

A white (hvít) lam.
C:  Lukka.

Röskva loves lambs.
C:  Lukka.

The "lamb-king" 1999.  He's dark brown now, will be moorit (mórauð).
Icelandic farmers call the first lamb born on their farm each the spring:
The lamb-king or the lamb-queen.
The lambs love playing in the sheep's feed-trough.  This fellow is a ram, as can be seen on the small horns he's born with.  The ewes get horns, but they aren't born with them.
C:  Lukka.

Sniff, sniff, sniffing at each other.  Láki, a white ewe, a white ewe with black cheeks, a moorit ewe-lamb with a white crown.
C:  Lukka.

The ram has to go out of the barn, he takes too much room with those big horns when there are lambs everywhere.  Instead he tries to socialize with us, the dogs...
C:  Lukka.

...and most of all with the horses.  Next to sheep, he likes horses best.
C:  Lukka.

As soon as it is warm enough, and the lambs are fit enough, they are put out, either in a pen or in a pasture.  Here you can see moorits, grey, black and a white.
C:  Lukka.

And one trying to immitate a pinto stallion parking out.
C:  Lukka.

One mother lost her milk for a week, we helped her out.
C:  Lukka.

Mother and son enjoying themselves.
C:  Lukka.

History I Characteristics I Colors I Breeding goals I Gaits I Training
I Raising our horses I Our broodmares I Foals 1999 I Foals 2000 I Onelist I Location I Weather I Winter gallery I Summer gallery I Us at Langhus
I Icelandic cow I Icelandic sheep I Icelandic sheepdog I Articles from the website IWebrings I Link-collection I Horses for sale I



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