2006 Lamb List! (CLICK HERE!)

Exciting News for the 2004 Lambing Season!
Misty Meadow Icelandics is at the forefront of a new artificial insemination technique. While artificial insemination (AI) has been a common management practice with many types of livestock, it has not been an economical alternative for sheep breeders. AI in sheep has consisted of laparoscopy, an invasive surgical technique used to deposit semen in the oviduct. Attempts to use the more conventional vaginal AI method have not been successful. Recently Dr. Thorsteinn Olaffson, veterinarian and researcher at Southhagri in Selfoss, Iceland developed an tested a vaginal AI method that has the potential to revolutionize sheep management by accelerating the rate of breed improvement.

In November 2003, Tom was one of twelve Icelandic breeders who traveled to Iceland to learn the new technique. Upon returning, our farm became one of four Icelandics flocks in the country to use vaginal AI with frozen semen from the best rams in Iceland. Five of our ewes were serviced by means of the new technique and an ultrasounding in January confirmed that four of them are pregnant. We are hopeful that our spring lambs will confirm an 80% AI success rate.

Visit the Southram website (www.bssl.is/english/content.asp) for more information on the AI sires. The following rams were sires for our 2004 lambs:Horvi, Rektor and Abel.

In addition, the following Misty Meadow rams we used for 2004. Visit the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation website (www.clrc.on.ca.) to review pedigree information on these rams: