Video: A farm visit when lambs are being born
A proud mother with her two lambs Photo: Iceland Monitor/Árni Sæberg
Early summer in Iceland every sheep farmer is caught up in sauðburður, a term used for the time when lambs are being born. This happens in the space of a few weeks. In bigger farms friends and family come by and help out, as the sheep flock cannot be left unattended and has even to be watched overnighte in case something comes up.
Farmers Jóhannes Sveinbjörnsson and Ólöf Björg Einarsdóttir own 600 ewes that were due this summer in their farm Heiðarær by lake Þingvallavatn.
Ólafsdóttir says the sheep sometimes need help when they are in labour if they are extremely tired. “This is something you understand if you’ve had three children of your own!”
Sometimes something comes up and an ewe or the lamb die. Ólafsdóttir feels this keenly, these are her animals. “I’ve shed a tear on many occasions here, I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
Sauðburður is mostly finished in Iceland now. Some fields are dotted with cute little lambs, other farmers have already herded their sheep to the mountains and highlands, where they’ll roam free for the rest of the summer. This tradition creates the unique flavour to the meat of the Icelandic lamb.
