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Fun Facts About Gotland Sheep
ORIGINS
Natives of Gotland Island, in the Baltic Sea off of mainland Sweden, our docile current day Gotlands are generations out of a primitive breed known as the Gute Sheep. Their ancestry is shared with other Landrace Breeds thought to have traveled and settled with the Vikings along their trade routes.
TRAITS
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Over the last century the Gotland sheep has been bred to be polled, (without horns), and to produce some of the world's most sought-after fleeces and pelts. Gotlands are a smaller medium sized multi-purpose breed with sleek black heads and legs, and silky, curly, lustrous wool that primarily ranges in color from light silver to dark gray, but white and black are present as well.
COMING TO AMERICA
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The Gotland is being established through a process called upbreeding that requires research, planning, some experimentation, and a combination of artificial insemination and natural breeding. The goal is to replicate, as closely as possible, the Swedish Gotland.
In recent years, some breeders have begun to import embryos, thus introducing 100% Purbred live animals to the North American gene pool.
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