Jacob sheep are the most beautiful sheep I have ever seen: http://www.oregonwool.com/breedpix/jacobram.jpg Does anyone here have any experience with them?
we go to a huge Wool market and they have some of the most beautiful ones there. We were talking to a breeder and she shad the people will try to purchase the older rams and they kill them just for the head to mount. That is horrible. You should see them when they are all washed and cleaned for show. Talk about beautiful. Are you looking at getting them?
They are amazing aren't they? :greengrin: I've gotten to see them at the state fair. They are even more gorgeous in person if at all possible. :drool:
Oh yeah, I love jacob sheep...they are so unique! I almost got some a few years ago, but we were unable to for some reason...can't remember. :?
There is a breeder a couple miles from me...she has a shop at her house and sells raw wool, yarn, and hand-knitted items. A couple years ago, I went to a sheep herding demo there and got to watch her border collies work the sheep. Apparently, this type of sheep can be a bit defensive because they actually charged the dogs a few times (I don't have a whole lot of experience with sheep though so I don't know how common this behavior is). The breeder said that overall they are a really hardy breed, easy keepers, easy lambers, and don't require much specialized care.
ach! ACH! People actually kill them just for their heads?! Talk about senseless murder!!! I don't have a problem with slaughtering the animal if you are going to use the ENTIRE creature, but for crying out loud!! Killing them just for a trophy?! I'd like to have one or two just to see what they're like. I don't know how they'd get on with goats though. I would really like to learn how to shear, clean the wool and make yarn out of it. Can anyone recommend a book?
I had heard that about these sheep also. I've seen on t.v. where cattle drive at the dogs also, so maybe it's the temperment of the individual animal. Fussy fussy...!
They are very unique looking. From the little that I've read of them they are of Syrian descent, grow four horns (sometimes five or six if you can believe there would be any more space on their heads for it), and they are all spotted. The wool is highly desirable because of it's texture, thickness and colour. I'd love to learn how the yarn is made.
Yeah, they're pretty crazy looking. I thought the same thing about the first black squirrel I ever saw. http://chasingsquirrelswithrusty.files. ... irrel2.jpg Spooky... :shocked:
we used to have a couple of jacob sheep when I was a kid. One was called Leah and the other Rachel... sad thing was that Rachel was barren - we should NEVER have called her that should we? :roll: she did eventually end up having twins, but said twins were stillborn sadly. The moral of the story being that you should always check that the horns fit through the slats in the feeder... so that the sheep doesn't starve itself :roll: I would love another Jacob though and will get one someday. When you breed 'em to normal sheep - I mean like, any old sheep for meat, etc. like a Suffolk, Texel, etc. the lamb will be black all over with a little white star on the forehead LW
