A little bit more of Iceland in Iowa

I have been remiss. There are just so many things to blog about and I can't do them all in one day. Well, I could, but that would be entirely too much reading for anybody to manage, so I try to just do one post at a time! Well, after we came home from our holiday, we picked up 3 new Icelandic ewes that we had purchased before going away. While we were away, they spent some good quality time with "Thunder" in a way that only girl sheep know about (but don't talk about). They spent 2 cycles with him and after being marked in their first cycle, they didn't get marked in the second, so that was a good sign that they are "with lamb(s)."

These ewes came from a local farm named Hedgeapple Farm. We are excited to have someone who breeds Icelandics this close to us! Lorraine from Hedgeapple Farm is a delightful lady and loves her sheep very much. We learned a great deal from her in acquiring these sheep, and we look forward to learning more!

So now, without further ado, I introduce to you Clover, Oreo, and Kat, who has become KitKat to me. Two of them are due on April 27 and the third on May 2. We are so very excited to bring into the world our new Icelandic lambs this spring. Kat is the brown ewe, Clover is the front ewe, and Oreo is in the back.
Clover is a 3 year old spotted, black and white ewe. Lorraine says she looks like a dalmatian when sheared. She had one lamb in her first lambing, and has had twins twice since. Great things about her include that she is parasite resistant, and has also proven to be a great mother with good milking capacity. She has a beautiful fleece! She's giving us a side view here!

Oreo is also 3 years old, also black and white spotted, and carries the leadership gene, which is unique to Icelandics. She had one lamb in her first breeding, then twins, and then triplets! Wow, maybe she will give us triplets too! Oreo says "Enough with the pictures already!"

Kitkat is a 3 year old moorit ewe and has a gorgeous fleece with thick thel. She previously had a single lamb, and then twins. I just love her color and her eyes.
We just love our new girls and they seem very comfortable here. I can't wait to work with their fiber!

Poppy says "Don't forget about me! I'm beautiful too!" Of course you are Poppy, and you get a special picture on the blog post today!