ICELANDIC SHEEP:  Breed Standards

The following breed standards  were written by Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North American President Stefania Dignum of Yeoman Farm, Parham, Ontario. She translated the judging guidelines for Icelandic Sheep written in Iceland.  Being a native Icelander who loved this hardy and diverse breed of sheep,  she went through the difficult task of being the first person to  import Icelandic sheep into North America. Stefania imported 12 sheep in 1985 and 88 sheep in 1990 into Parham, Ontario. Since that time Icelandic sheep can be found in most provinces of Canada and  the United States (except the extreme south).

 
 
 
 
 
 

ICELANDIC SHEEP:  Breed Standards
General Appearance:	Medium sized sheep Fine boned with open face and legs Mature body weights, Rams: 90-100kgs. Ewes: 60 - 65 kgs.
Head:	Short with broad forehead to the nostrils. Nostrils should be well open, lips thick and jaw strong looking. Eyes should be bright and alert. Horned and polled acceptable in both sexes. Horns growing too close to the face is undesirable.
Neck:	Short, round and broading at shoulders so that where neck and shoulders meet is not noticeable Rams should have thicker neck area than ewes.
Shoulders:	Broad, blending smoothly into body. Rounded and meaty.
Chest and Ribs:	Broad and reach well in front of legs. Wide chest cavity. Ribs should stand well out and be well rounded.
Back, Loin and Rump:	Long thick back muscle with firm flesh. Loin broad, roundish and strong. Rump broad, well muscled, fairly long but can taper back a bit.
Feet and Legs:	Legs well muscled and thick, muscle reaching far down towards the hock. Feet short, thick, straight and squarely placed. Pasterns strong angling about 45 degrees to the ground.
Fleece:	There should be a lot of wool. White fleece, but colored accepted and often preferred. Wool is dual coated, fine, wavy undercoat (thel) and long coarse corkscrewy outercoat (tog). Kemp in wool is undesirable.
Skin:	Pinkish
Serious Defects:	Badly twisted legs

Stefania Dignam
Yeoman Farm
Parham, Ontario
email-yeomanfa@frontenac.net