[Jacob-list] Triplets and scurrs

[gordon johnston]

Triplets - bane of my life. My jacobs here in Scotland are prone to triplets. Those that have them keep on doing it. I have my sneaking suspicions that the tendency to more than twins, all other things being equal, point to downland genes lurking within. My small and most prinitive ewe has singles or twins. Just like my Hebrideans, Shetlands and Soays.

Scurrs (sgurran if you prefer the Gaelic) are not the remains of broken-off horns. Most studied on the Hirta Soays, they are small, very undeveloped horns usually found on small tups which lurk on the fringes of a flock. When the big and heavily horned tups die off in a bad winter having spent their time guarding their harem rather than eating, the small scurred tups get the chance to propogate their genes. You would expect about 5% of the flock to be scurred in a true feral or wild unmanaged flock. There is some controversy within Hebridean breeders over registering scurred sheep. I am all for it personally, but that's a different topic.

Gordon and Juliet Johnston
Gladstone Flock  
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