[Jacob-list] Re: Sentimental? I'll drink to that

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

Fred is also sentimental.  Adjusting my glasses and picking up the glass in 
front of me to toast sentimentality...TO SENTIMENTALITY. 

Mary Ellen writes: "I MISS those early days of searching, digging, learning, 
going out and studying each sheep and coming back to talk about specific 
traits we saw from one side of the country to the other...that sense of 
wonder and absolute THRILL of learning."  

Are those days gone already?  I thought we were still learning or am I 
missing it.

Edd writes: "You miss it!!!!!  One of the reasons that Patrice has my 
"primitive" flock 
now is exactly what you have said - the " thrill" of finding a forgotten 
flock, i.e. Evan Meyers,  or a new ram at an Exotic Sale, or even better a 
small flock that had been around for 15 years, or some of stock that filtered 
down from Canada........."

Locating and trying to identify and reclaim "lost flocks" is a contribution 
to conservation.  The conservation breeder that proves they breed true and 
are Jacobs vs. horned, spotted sheep...after several generations of 
breedings...is the real and significant conservation "aha"..or "eureka" 
contribution.

Edd: "Now everyone has to have a linage certificate at least 5 generations":  

PUTTING DOWN MY GLASS: I think that is a worthwhile for breeders to use 
geneticist's conclusions.  Breeding true through six generations without 
"misfits" along the way is the trueest test of the parent Jacobness and 
traits .  Documented pedigrees of all progeny are important; it is a breeding 
record.   Jacob records for North America go back about 20 years.  A quick 
check of the JSBA 1999 flock book has 5 ewes and 1 ram in the D section and 
the JSC 2000 flock book is similarly sparse; i.e., five or six generations in 
20 years.  Where are the 14-15 missing generations? 

Edd writes: "the breed coefficient has to be with a certain percentage, the 
wool perfect, no bleeding, no quilting, no freckling,"   

ADJUSTING MY GLASSES; A TOAST TO SOCRATES:  Socrates asked "why" certain 
things are or happen.  Why do I like ice in my glass?  Does inbreeding 
promote consistency?, diversity?, depression?  What types of birth defects 
are observed (non-lethal, lethal)?  Why has the ticking gene spread thru the 
flock?  Why does 1/3 of the flock have SUED?  Why do lambs die at 9 months 
for "no reason"?  Why has the color disappeared?  Why does white fleece grow 
out of black skin? Why do two Jacobs produce an all hair (black and white) 
two horn?  Why is a ewe scurred?  After ten or twenty years of caring for the 
Jacobs, answers should be available.  Perhaps the issues of "register or 
not-register" (pretty/not-pretty) affect the conservation and understanding 
of the breed.  Organizations are a record source ("registry") and keep the 
data that helps answer "why".  A TOAST TO ALL THE RECORD KEEPERS.

I don't think the organizations say that inbreeding coefficients, wool, 
bleeding, quilting have to be such and such...but recognizing a problem, 
helping breeders recognize problems, perhaps knowing something of the cause 
and effect and sharing good and bad experiences can be very helpful for the 
flock and breed....and the conservator.  A TOAST FOR THE CONSERVATOR.

Edd writes: " - the sheep that I see on the list are really beautiful - but 
they should be.  Not that anything is wrong with where the Jacob Sheep are 
today but when you get to a certain point for me I guess it surpasses what we 
strived to accomplish.  I really do not personally know of anyone except Bill 
Jones that is trying to conserve/preserve certain old lines.  Perfection to 
me is not the answer to all aspects of a breed."

A TOAST TO BEAUTIFUL JACOBS.  CRYING IN MY GLASS:  Some Jacobs are 
ugly...even after a few toasts.  Somebody even painted eye patches on an ugly 
one to make it look pretty for a book.  DRINK TO THE OLD LINES: Yes, there is 
the forgotten old line flock "suddenly discovered" at an auction and there is 
conservation of the "old lines"...perhaps all are progeny of the 25 Jacobs 
that immigrated here 20, 30, 50 years ago.  Conservators begin and have 
differing commitments to their flocks and breed; each personally seeking 
"perfection".  Perfection (in the context of conservation) is not just "how 
pretty they look"; rather, that they consistently produce healthy Jacob 
progeny generation after generation that meet a breed standard and flock 
objective.  While the breed standard should be as objective as possible; 
selection for traits within the standard can be as personal as one chooses.   

Old lines?... the way one determines whether an old line is conserved is the 
percent of "similar genes" passed by descent and has less to do with flock 
name.  Some breeders have more old lines buried (LIFTIN THE GLASS..BURIED 
REMINDS ME OF FUNERAL ...DID THE IRISH PUT THE WORD "FUN" IN FUNERAL AS AN 
ANAGRAM FOR REALFUN?) in their flocks than they may be aware...the breed has 
barely moved 5 genetic generations in 20-30 years.  The flock books are 
loaded with "old line" genes and 10 year old Jacobs.  The "discovered 
flock"?...one determines its value by what it produces and can add to one's 
flock and conserving the breed.

AFTER ADJUSTING MY GLASSES AND FINDING MY GLASS: Thursday I went over 
pictures and pedigrees of seven registered Jacobs...all pretty, all horned, 
all spotted...but after looking up the Jacobs each had significant parentage 
errors.  If I bought these sheep, based on the erroneous neatly written 
pedigrees offered by the seller, (I remember when neat writting got extra 
credit) would I be buying historical old lines (based on the flock book data) 
or "hysterical" old lines" (based on the seller's pedigree information)?   
JOAN SAYS I HAVE TO PUT DOWN MY GLASS.  

Semtinemtal Phred is now glasy eied and probably missed the point!