Icelandic sheep
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polled strain | |
The Icelandic
It is generally short-legged and stocky, slender and light-boned, and usually
History
It is thought that the sheep were introduced to Iceland by Vikings in the late ninth or early tenth century.[4]: 826
Breed numbers reached a peak in 1978, when there were approximately 891 000, or about four sheep for every inhabitant of Iceland. By 2007 the total number had fallen to about 450 000.[5] In 2018 a population of just over 432 000 was reported to DAD-IS.[2]
Characteristics
The colors of Icelandic sheep are inherited in a similar way to those of other sheep, but they display more variety in color and pattern than most other breeds, and some variations are seen which are not seen in other sheep. Each sheep carries three genes that affect the color of the sheep, and each gene has dominant and recessive alleles.[citation needed]
Use
Until the 1940s the Icelandic sheep was the predominant
The fleece is double-coated, with a long outer coat (tog) which gives protection from snow and rain, and a fine inner coat (þel) which insulates the animal against the cold.
Notes
- ^ Icelandic: íslenska sauðkindin, pronounced [ˈistlɛnska ˈsœyðˌcʰɪntɪn], Islenska Saudkindin
References
- ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b Breed data sheet: Icelandic Sheep / Iceland (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2021.
- ^ Breed data sheet: Icelandic Leadersheep / Iceland (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ a b [s.n.] (17 February 2007). Íslenska sauðkindin (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. Accessed July 2021.
- ISBN 9781904871644.
Further reading
- Stefán Aðalsteinsson (1970). Colour inheritance in Icelandic sheep and relation between colour, fertility and fertilization. Journal of Agricultural Research, Iceland. 2 (1): 3–135.
- Stefán Aðalsteinsson (1975). Depressed fertility in Icelandic sheep caused by a single colour gene. Annales de génétique et de sélection animale. 7 (4): 445.
- Stefán Aðalsteinsson (1977). Albinism in Icelandic sheep. The Journal of Heredity. 68 (6): 347–349. .
- Stefán Aðalsteinsson (1983). Inheritance of colours, fur characteristics and skin quality traits in North European sheep breeds: a review. Livestock Production Science 10:555-567.
- Jón V. Jónmundsson, Stefán Aðalsteinsson (1985). Single genes for fecundity in Icelandic sheep. In: R.B. Land, D.W. Robinson (1985). Genetics of Reproduction in Sheep. London: Butterworths. .