CONTACT US

If you have questions or are interested in purchasing any of our sheep please give us a call or email to arrange directly- the webstore is not setup.

360-305-2233 or rvasak76@gmail.com (Ryan)

360-739-1440 or rachelvasak@gmail.com (Rachel)

Icelandic Sheep Wool is amazing! According to the Icelandic Sheep Breeders of America:  " The Icelandic sheep produces a premium fleece. The fleece is dual coated, with a fine, soft undercoat called thel and a longer, coarser outer coat called tog. The tog fiber with a spinning count of 56-60 and a micron count of 27-30, grows to a length of 6-8" in six months. It is lustrous, strong, water- and wear-resistant, and sheds off the rain and weather. Thel is the soft downy undercoat, with a spinning count of 64-70 and a micron count of 19-22, growing to a length of 2-4". The thel provides the loft for the outer coat and insulation for the sheep. Tog grows from the primary hair follicles and the thel from the secondary follicles. Tog is a true wool, and is not a kemp or guard hair. The combination of the two fibers on the sheep gives superb protection from the cold and wet. Icelandic fleeces are open and low in lanolin. The weight loss when washed is significantly less than many other breeds.  The average adult yearly fleece total weighs 4-7 lbs. Producers often shear their Icelandics twice a year. This is due, in part, to the fact that Icelandics have a natural wool break in late winter for the rams generally, and in spring for the pregnant or lactating ewes. Shearing at or around the time of the natural break is recommended to remove the "old" coat before the "new" coat grows in. The sheep are sheared again in the fall to harvest the fleeces before the animals go on hay for the winter. These fall-shorn fleeces are very soft and clean and can bring a premium price per pound.The two coats can be separated by hand for special projects, or they may be processed together. The traditional lopi is a lightly spun blend of tog and thel. Thel is very soft and downy, with an irregular crimp and can be used for baby garments, and for the fine shawls in the style of the Wedding Shawl. The tog is similar to mohair; wavy or corkscrewed rather than crimped and is wonderful in worsted spinning.The versatility of the wool, the ease of spinning and the wide variation of tones and colors are a true delight to handspinners, and put Icelandic wool into the exotic or premium category. It is also known as one of the best fleeces for felting, which is fast gaining popularity in the craft community". 

Skirting a spotted lamb fleece on shearing day.

Many of our sheep have solid patterns or large spots, but there are a few who have this type of spotting in their undercoat.  As their fleece grows out it looks white (sometimes with large dark spots ). We call this picture "shearing a dalmatian".

Ferndale Icelandic Sheep Cooperative

We are currently comprised of three separate small family farms within a few miles of each other who support each other in our goals to raise happy and healthy Icelandic Sheep. We collaborate at shearing time, support each other during lambing season, and work together to effectively care for our flocks and meet our customer's needs, If we don't have the animal you are looking for, one of our neighboring farms just might!

Meat! The reason we started raising Icelandic sheep is the excellent quality of the meat! According to the Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America: "The Icelandic breed is considered a mountain breed, and historically mountain breeds have been milder in flavor, and leaner than the lowland breeds.  The meat is indeed very tender with a mild flavor, and is generally described as gourmet meat.  With the leaner, European style carcass, and the mild flavor, Icelandic lamb can appeal to the palate of even those consumers who avow they "just don't like lamb."  We believe that this lamb is far superior to anything available in a grocery store.

Each fall we offer delicious, fresh, locally pastured LAMB for sale.  Our gourmet Icelandic lamb is totally GRASS FED, and all of our sheep have access to free-choice natural mineral supplements which include salt, kelp, and other natural minerals. We offer lamb by the whole or half animal.  Cuts are done to customer specifications and packed for pickup directly at the butcher.  Contact us for more details.  

Our current price is 8.00 per pound, based on hanging weight. Hanging weight is the weight of the meat after the initial skinning and cleaning process.  Actual hanging weights will not be known until the lamb is sent to the butcher, but usually range from 35-50 pounds for a whole lamb.  Processed weight (what you take home) is roughly 65% of the hanging weight.  Please contact us to reserve your lamb now.