I'll get a picture. Lovely coloring from what I could tell. Our surprise summer baby created a surprise summer baby. Seasonal genetics? Not likely. Probably just a chance winter breeding, obviously just before we sold our ram!
A four horned lamb out of a four horned ewe (Fine Fettle Sueprize), out of a four horned ewe (Fine Fettle Gilda) who also gave us a four horned lamb (won't be registered but named George) earlier this year. I'm curious about the genetic strength of four horns in some ewes versus the others.
The bad news: this new lamb appears (from a distance) to be a ram lamb. The good news: one less lovely ewe we'd be tempted to keep! The bad news: we were likely to cull the ewe as her upright horns are much too forward. The good news: she produced a very nice colored lamb and having given us one of the few superb-for-spinning fleeces this year, she may have procured a slot in our flock.
On another note regarding the Jacobs, we have decided to buy Betty Berlenbach's nice two horned ram, Unzicker Captain. His breeder, Royal Unzicker, bought one of our older ewes last fall, and now we'll have some of his bloodlines in our flock. Captain has coloring we like and very nice fleece.
I guess it's time RNB and I sat down and figured out how many ewes we want in our flock, and consider selling some if we are not going to keep them all. I do wish it were easier to photo these sheep -- that's my current excuse for not getting them registered yet! I have named them all, secured our farm prefix with the JSBA, and tracked all the bloodline info I can regarding the rams we've had here over the years. It's those photos that are holding me up, I must admit!
This is from earlier in the year. It's not raining right now so maybe I'll go take some pictures of the new arrival.
2 comments:
Oooh! Your Jacob's are stunning! Are they difficult to catch and not as tame?
Our angora goats are like that, except for one wether, but mostly because he thinks we have a treat for him. haha!
What type of garments are Jacob fleece used for? Have you been spinning for a long time?
I'm just learning how to spin, though I've been knitting for about 2 years. I took a wool processing class last month and learned so much and can't wait to get started with the wool processing of my own llamas, angora goats and sheep.
We only have one Navajo Churro ewe lamb and one Karakul ewe lamb. Not sure if we will ever breed them, but it might be nice since they are not very common. Trouble is finding fellow Churro and Karakul owners locally.
Anyway, I've rambled too much. I enjoyed reading about your beautiful Jacob Sheep and look forward to reading and seeing more of them one day.
I think I stumbled upon your charming bog through Teachings of the Horse Blog.
Hi Twinville,
Thanks for your comments to various blog entries. I'll get some pictures up of the peacocks -- hard to believe I haven't yet! *g* I do not spin -- sorry if I misled you. I started knitting as a child, learning from my mother who loved to knit and sew throughout her life. I've seen sweaters, lap rugs, braided floor rugs, socks, scarves, and hats made from Jacob wool. I'm sure if you googled it you would find pictures and probably products available for sale as well.
Our Jacobs are not tame, and we've been mostly quite comfortable with that. We do lure them into a catch pen when we need to shear them. Some of the older ones, longer accustomed to us, are more tolerant of closeness. I like to spend time with the new lambs so they might have a chance for friendliness if they are sold as pets. Most come when they see us, especially when we are carrying a bucket of grain!
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