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Hawks Mountain Ranch Articles we have written Published in
the 6th World Congress on Coloured Sheep |
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Improving Icelandic Sheep in
North America About the breedIcelandic sheep are one of the oldest breeds in the world. Related to the European short tail breeds, the ewes average weight is 130-150lbs and the males 175-200. Both sexes can be polled or horned. In Iceland they are used for their meat, fiber and milk production. They produce a naturally lean carcass and the meat is prized for it’s delicate flavor. The fiber known as “Lopi” in Iceland is famous for the warm sweaters produced from this dual coated wool. The milk is prized for cheese and yogurt The
sheep can thrive on grass alone. They
are resourceful grazers and do well in rough pastures.
Good maternal instincts combined with vigorous lambs result in good
survival rates with minimal intervention. Imported to North America in 1985Stefania Sveinbjarnardottir-Dijnum settled in eastern Canada from Iceland. She worked with both the Canadian and Iceland authorities to import the first 12 Icelandic sheep to North America in July 1985. In the 18 years since that importation the breed has grown rapidly. There are currently over 80 breeders in the United States alone. Recognized as the “godmother” of the North American flock, Stefania helped form the Icelandic Sheep Breeders Association of North America (ISBONA) and served as it’s first president. Information about Icelandic sheep in North America can be found on the website at: www.isbona.com
The need for genetic diversityAs the breed began to gain a great deal of popularity in North America, it became apparent that new bloodlines were needed. We found it impossible to import more breeding stock due to the borders being closed from importing live animals in to the U.S. Breeders were finding it increasingly difficult to find animals that were unrelated to each other. Importing
semen was seen as the most cost effective and easiest method of providing
that diversity. Iceland is
divided into large regions called Paddocks. These regions have semen
collection stations that select the superior rams for providing fresh and
in some cases, frozen semen. The rams are selected to provide superior
carcass, fleece and conformation. This provided an excellent source for the improvement of the
flocks in North America. Importing
the semen Iceland keeps these regions separate from each other to make sure they can assure disease prevention. The South region has been free of Scrapie for years. This was one of the requirements for the importation of semen into the United States. Each of these
regions has a semen collection station that collects and distributes semen
from premium rams. The Southram station sells and exports frozen semen.
Southram has a website that allowed us to preview the rams for the
kind of characteristics we were looking for.
Our primary criteria for Ram selection were general body
conformation, carcass production and fleece production.
However we were also very interested in color.
It had been our experience that colored animals sold much better in
the US. We wanted to develop
a flock that contained as many of the colors and patterns as possible
while improving our fleece quality. In
year 2000, we imported semen from 9 different
rams. Before we
could do the importation, we needed to get enrolled into the Voluntary
Federal Scrapie Free Certification Program in the United States. This
program is run by the United States Department of Agriculture and is
designed to insure that the farm is managed in such a way that assures
Scrapie is not introduced. The
program requires an annual inspection by a state or federal veterinarian
as well as an accounting of all animals brought to and leaving the farm.
The first generation offspring and the ewes bred with the imported
semen may only be sold to farms that are also enrolled in the Scrapie
Program. AI at
Hawks Mountain Ranch In year 2001,
we inseminated 28 ewes. We had an 82% conception rate that produced
44 lambs. We were committed to use these new genetics to jump start
the improvement of our flock. We selected some of the best ewes and rams
as replacements. We turned over all of our existing herd sires and kept
some of the best AI ram lambs to take their place. We invited
some local Icelandic breeders to participate in the AI process. We
documented the process of importing semen, and the AI process itself and
put that on our website at: www.hawksmtnranch.com
We wanted to shorten the learning curve for other Icelandic
breeders that might be interested in importing semen. Since that
initial breeding, we have had 4 more AI
sessions. We have bred a
total of 101 ewes and produced 165
offspring. The impact
of AI There are a number of breeders in North America that are using imported semen. This has resulted in a huge step forward in the genetic choices for new and established breeders. Hawks Mountain Ranch currently has shipped animals to 12 different states. Because
first generation offspring of AI can only be sold to farms enrolled in the
Voluntary Scrapie Free Certification Program, a large majority of
Icelandic breeders in North America are enrolled.
This has greatly increased the awareness of not only Scrapie but of
related health maintenance practices.
I believe that Icelandic breeders in North America are among the
most careful in their herd management practices. Finally, the
importation has achieved the results we were looking for in our own flock.
We marvel at the differences between the animals from these premium
rams from Iceland. The
quality of the fiber has greatly improved in our flock and they have
provided us with the kind of conformation we were looking for.
They have also addded muscle quickly.
One of our AI ram fleeces won Grand Champion fleece over all other
breeds at the Michigan Fiber festival and champion ram at the black sheep
gathering in 2002. Both of
these shows feature some of the toughest competition in the Midwestern and
western United States.
In
conclusion Artificial insemination has provided a vehicle for dramatically improving both the genetic diversity and animal quality of the North American Icelandic flock. Never having used AI before, we were not experienced at either the process itself or the regulations required to acquire the semen. With a little research and some helpful advice from others who had experience at both, it turned out to be pretty easy to accomplish. AI will continue to be a part of our herd management in the future.
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