Jacob Sheep

[gwynplaine]

I posted this in the "Fur and Sheep" segment, but it doesn't appear to be visited with any frequency. I knew that some of you, here, were sheep type people. Here's the posting:

Recently I discovered that what I used to call "satan goats" were actually 4 horned Jacob Sheep. They appear to be a particularly interesting animal, I'd be interested in purchasing one for around-the-yard cleanup, and a general conversation peice. Does anyone have any info on breeders/availability/price etc?

[cakadu]

The Jacob 4-horn is a very ancient breed of sheep. If you have access to the internet, you can go to the Oklahoma State University website which has information on all types of breeds of animals and birds. The Rare Breeds Canada site will also have information on Jacobs.

What province are you in? I know of a couple people that did have Jacobs, but I don't know if they still do. Because it is a smaller sheep and a less popular breed, there aren't that many breeders around.

Price would depend, in large part, on whether or not they were registered.

Sheep tend not to like being alone as they have that flocking instinct, so just having one sheep may cause a lot of grief.

[cakadu]

Here is the URL for the Oklahoma State website. You just need to cut and paste it into your browser.

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/

[gwynplaine]

Actually, I'm just north of Edmonton, and no, the Sheep wouldn't be alone.

[redhen]

Hi gwynplaine,

We have a Jacob ram and ewe. We raised the ewe from a week-old lamb, and she is one opinionated young woman! They both have great personalities. She is white with black spots, and the ram is white with lilac spots. These are the two registered colours. We love our two and hope to get some top fibre-quality lambs from them. Their naturally-coloured fibre is sought after by hand-spinners.

As for yard clean-up, they will eat thistles, but only after they've eaten grass and lilacs! We keep ours contained with electric fencing that can be moved once grass and weeds are eaten down. Would help to protect the plants you wanted to keep too!

If you would like a list of nearby breeders, you can e-mail me at silverspiritfarms@yahoo.com