Miniature JACOB SHEEP (the biblical spotted, multi horned sheep)
Come meet our flock
All Jacobs have horns, both the rams and the ewes. BUT The Boys get really large!
Two Lovely yearly Toy sized boys just taking it easy in the warm spring sun Our '06 herd sires Hoppie above and William below
Our Toy
male "Tripper" above a real pet a Lilac colored two
horned boy Left is a young 4 Horned ram and on the Right
is an adult 2 Horned ram
A mini 4 Horned blk/wh Ram on the Lf and a Toy two horned Lilac/wh Ram on
the Rt
The Ewes get both 2 and 4 horns also but never in
the size the rams do They are a site to behold when they gather and will
stop traffic on your road A Winter Wonderland
Jacobs in winter weather, a small breeding group of both 2 and 4 horned
ewes
with their 4 horned ram.
As you can see they come in a wide variety of spot
patterns and shapes, always interesting All above are Black and White spotted ewes
These four are "lovely" Lilac
colored ewes (with soft dove gray spots)
The Miniature jacobs are in EVERY way the same as the standard sized
jacobs EXPECT of course in size! they are the size they were in the days of old,.....
Small. They make wonderful Youth projects And of course the Kids just love them!
Jacob sheep are one of several multi horned breeds.
Both the rams and ewes are horned. Commonly the horns are seen in even
sets of 2 or 4 though uneven sets are also seen some are even polled. Their
wool maybe their best asset to the small scale farms hand spinner's flock.
Twining is common as well. They come in three different spot colors, the
Black, the Chocolate and the Lilac gray, all on a snow white background.
They are docile and easy to handle never using their horns. They are a
lightly built animal whose meat is also very good. With each having their
own special markings each is a uniquely rare and different sheep in its
own right.
The Miniature Jacob Sheep History and Breed Information Sheet (The biblical, spotted, multi horned sheep.)
It is said that spotted sheep are one of the oldest breeds in the
world. These markings provided camouflage to hide and protect them
in their original feral state. The polycerate (multi-horned) trait
is thought to have been used and bred into the Nomadic herds as further
protection from predators. It is unlikely that accurate details of their origins will ever
be undisputed, but the Jacob sheep take their name from the biblical story
of the bible in Genesis 30, where it is recorded that the man named "Jacob"
worked for his father-in-law. The story tells how he was told by
God to use only spotted ram sheep in his herd. This advice was the
first and oldest documented reference to selective animal breeding.
The result of this practice produced him an almost entirely spotted flock
in nearly no time! Miniature Jacob Sheep are a small sheep and at times look more like
a goat than a sheep. They may have a light carcass, but the meat
is lean and flavorful with little fat. American's Jacob Sheep have always retained the lines of much smaller
sheep than the British with their more improved breeds influences.
Miniature Jacob Sheep are "new" only in size. They are still the
"old world" breed we have come to love, just in a smaller package!
Nothing else has been changed. In fact, all Miniature Jacob Sheep
must conform to a breed standard which was taken directly in content from
the Jacob Sheep Breeders Association club's ideal with exception of the
size and many are now dual registered. Miniature Jacob Sheep have randomly placed spots on the body and
ideally should have facial and leg markings as well. The head and
legs are free of wool. The tail is docked or can be left natural.
Both rams and ewes are horned. The males horns are much larger, two
or four horned being preferred, but odd numbers or fused horns are seen.
Hooves and horns are dark and/or striped. Their eyes are dark, marbled
or even light blue. Most of these sheep range in weight from 50 to 90 pounds, but much
smaller ones can be found. A height restriction of 24" or less at
two years old is in use in the "Standard of Perfection." Females
are often smaller than the males in general, and as with most miniatures,
smaller is better. The Miniature Jacob's wool has a soft, medium to fine grade fleece
of two colors. A 60% to 80% white color to a 40% to 20% dark color
is most ideal. The dark color being black/brown in color or the spots
may also be a lilac-gray color. The white color is clean and bright.
Staple length approximately four to seven inches. Being a non-improved breed, Jacob Sheep have not developed the problems
of some of today's more popular meat and larger wool breeds. They're
still close link to the primitive sheep brings ease of lambing, and twins
are common. The Miniature Jacob Sheep of today, as always, are cost effective
to raise and with their strong foraging abilities, hardiness and ease of
management make then one of the best, first choice for an exotic.
They are almost a worry-free breed. A statement very few exotics
can make. The personality of the Miniature Jacob Sheep are as individual as
their spotted markings. They are, at times, demanding of attention,
so curious as to become bothersome and so willing to please, they can be
taught tricks such as standing on their hind legs (dancing), going through
an obstacle course in 4-H club shows or pulling carts to name a few. In today's ever changing and growing market, the Jacob Sheep are
a little known treasure. This rare and hardy breed can make you feel
good about helping to save a heritage breed while making a sound investment
choice as well.
THE UNIQUELY ATTRACTIVE MINIATURE
JACOB SHEEP The many qualities we're looking for all in
one little brightly colored package.
Jacob sheep are well known as the spotted multi-horned sheep
of old but there is much more to that statement than most people realize.
They are not always black and white spotted nor are they always multi horned
as most surely think, they come in a variety of spot colors, and are often
not double horned. Jacob sheep are all spotted, this is true and most all of
us know that by now, but what you many not know is that they come in several
spot colors with an endless array of patterns. The most common spot
color is by far the black, yet the breed does come in two other colors,
a little known fact. The lilac (gray) colored sheep are rare and
seldom seen, though the color has been around a very long time, it's not
a new one. The only new part of it is that it is now becoming quite sought
after by the very people that helped make the breed's come back, the hand
spinners and fanciers of the unique. They are rare, but the color is popular
and there are many individuals out there in mixed color flocks. A
very few owners are just now starting to raise closed color flocks of this
wonderful shade of gray, the lilac. The breed also has an even lesser known
color that has just started making its appearance in numbers enough to
begin getting some real attention, the chocolate. The same as the lilac
colored sheep, these too are born this color, which can be seen easily
at birth. Some black spotted sheep do turn chocolate looking when
their wool tips become sun damaged though they are not a true chocolate.
The chocolate color too is sure to make the hand spinners want list
of must have Jacob wool. Breeders are sure to take note of this and
see that this color gets a stable-breeding base within their flocks. Miniature Jacob Sheep are becoming well known in the
rare sheep market place with fanciers and spinners of their quality wool
and their unique looks. But on the other hand the Miniature Jacob
sheep are still quite rare in the world. Their appearance in general
is of course the same as that of the larger Jacob sheep but they are much
smaller and therefore much easier to handle and love. Nothing else seems
to have changed expect maybe that their wool is often much finer and the
quality better than that of the larger sized sheep. When people in the sheep world think of horns probably
the first breed that rightly comes to mind are the Jacob Sheep, with horns
matched by no other. Yet this breed has another side to this horn
issue. It's the fact that there are some flocks that are nearly all
two horned or even polled! This would surely shock some people because
most think that this breed is four horned only. Well this is not
only not so, but also not preferred. The breed is and has always
been a breed of many horns, and have been seen since the beginnings of
time with anything from no horns, polled, to combinations of two, three,
four, five and at times even six! It is preferred that the horns
be in sets of equal numbers of two or four. Sheep with more than
four horns rarely have a good uniform set, some being small, others larger
and spacing not what it should be. Polled sheep are also seen, but not
widely excepted here in the states as they are abroad. So the
general rule of thumb should be that in the USA two and four horned sheep
are the preference with one not more important or more proper than the
other is. If one is to have a healthy flock you should have both
in near equal numbers. There is also a condition known a split eye lid
that is seen in all the multi-horned sheep breeds of the world. This
is as it sounds, a split of the upper and sometimes lower eye lids, of
which there are several degrees of seriousness, all of which should be
avoided when ever possible. However it can be kept under control by a proper
balance of two and four horned breeding animals in your flock and not using
the ones with a severe case of this condition. Well we hope to have enlighted you on the subject of
Miniature Jacob Sheep and put you straight as to fact and fallacy, with
some of the right answers. If you have further questions about them
we hope you call or write and get the real answers from breeders of these
unique little animals sharing our world.
Smokey
Valley Kennel Since 1976 Rick
& Michelle Shannon 113 Blake Rd Toledo, WA 98591 Phone 360-864-6116 [email protected]
Small
Farm Today click here We have been features on the cover of this nice magazine two times. We recommend it, they do a nice job, its always full of helpful
and useful information .
Small
Farm Today link Small Farm Today
3903 W Ridge Trail Rd
Clark MO 65243-9525
573-687-3525
fax 573-687-3148
800-633-2535
[email protected] http://www.smallfarmtoday.com
