An old Swedish sheep breed is getting more colorful because of some U.S. breeders. Sheep owners, knitters and fiber artists wanted a variety of shades from gray to black and browns.

    Gotland sheep are thought to be descendants from the Viking era on the Swedish island of Gotland. Over the years they were bred to be polled with curly grey fleeces.

    "When people see the wool, they get excited about the purling locks and the smooth feel. It's lustrous, pretty wool," says Carol Ronan, who has nearly 100 Gotland sheep on her Selma, Ore., farm. "However, it's the sheep that sells them. Gotlands are calm, curious, friendly and they like being handled. They're smart and they have personality."

    She and other members of the Gotland Sheep Breeders Association of North America (GSBANA) focus on matching the Swedish standard for the Gotland breed. At the same time, they're excited about new colors, especially brown, which is showing up through breeding with approved foundation ewes.

    Since they can't import sheep from Sweden, U.S. breeders rely on semen from Britain, Sweden and New Zealand that's used to impregnate Shetland, Finn, Icelandic and other foundation breed ewes.

    "The brown shows up when you have two parents with brown genes. We didn't want to cull them out," Ronan explains. "Shades of brown and gold are desired for natural colored wool, and they're hard to find."

    There is a good market for the fleeces and roving. People who do felting like Gotland wool because it is smooth and silky. The meat is also considered excellent.

    Besides their personality, Ronan appreciates the breed's hardiness. She has never had to worm her flock, and they adapt to hot and cold climates.

    A major difference with Gotlands is that they need higher amounts of copper than other sheep breeds. Ronan has had success with feeding them an Angora goat mineral mix.

    Because of the expense and years required for breeding, breeding stock is expensive, Ronan notes. She sells her animals according to the percentage of Gotland and how they were bred. Artificially inseminated semen from Sweden is the most expensive.

    Sheep, wool and finished products can be purchased from Ronan and other GSBANA members (www.gsbana.org).

    The American Gotland Sheep Society  (www.AmericanGotlandSheep.org) also has Gotland breeders. The group only breeds for the original grey color, however.