[Jacob-list] Inbreeding--linebreeding--whatever you call it

[Mary Hansson]

Dan and all,
 
The breeding pattern of this particular flock WAS unique from what I
have heard about.  Here are the basics:
 
2 half-sisters were purchased BRED in 1988.  Two ram lambs were born to
one ewe and the other ewe did not produce that year (later produced
lambs).  FROM THESE 2 EWES AND THESE 2 RAM LAMBS HAVE COME THE ENTIRE
FLOCK!  
 
One of the original ram lambs was castrated at 3-4 years of age.  The
other was left intact (Fieldwood Isaiah) and died at my place at the
beginning of October.  From the appearance of the original ewes and the
2 ram lambs, it is presumed (but of course not known) that Benjamin
probably sired the ram that is still alive (Noble) and was used with
Isaiah throughout his life.  Noble was an adult in early spring pictures
1992 taken at the farm in NY, making him minimally born spring 1991.  He
is out here trucking alone with the ewes.
 
The 2 rams were left in with the flock 365 days out of the year.  The
ONLY selection process was when a butcher came and picked out lambs for
slaughter.  The owners did not do the picking and never named animals
other than the 3 mentioned rams---they couldn't face eating a named
animal.  The man took care of the day to day activities and his wife
basically saw the sheep in the pasture.  He died in February 2002,
leaving no records that his wife has located regarding the flock.  ALL
information on the flock goes from her memory of events and a few
pictures she has located and very graciously shared with Katrina and
myself.  I have also seen some pictures the original shepherd of the
Fieldwood Flock.
 
This flock was probably made up of 30-35 animals this spring when Royal,
Katrina, and I saw it.  There were 2 wethered ram lambs (one of whom
Royal purchased, and the other I got this fall).  Both have met their
maker.  There were probably 10-15 lambs at the most.  There were 4-5
yearling ewes, 1 or 2 2 year old ewes, and the rest were of an age that
teeth were either almost non-existant or quite obviously adult.
 
Ear tags were in a number of sheep and for the most part seemed to
correlate with tooth size/age.  There were some exceptions, so it is not
clear that Mr. Twigg went by tag number when he put tags in ears.  He
may also have replaced tags, as some ears look like they have notches as
well as holes left from multiple tags through the years.
 
This flock had quite a bit of the brown lilac fleece as well as blue
eyes.  There was very little freckling, although some animals do have
freckling.  Isaiah had a few gray strands of wool on his entire
body----Noble has a few more strands, but overall, THESE ANCIENT ANIMALS
ARE NOT SHOWING THE TYPICAL GRAYING EVEN WITH EXPECTED AGE that the rest
of the Jacobs around the country seem to show.  Kemp is essentially
non-existant in the group, although the fleeces are quite varied in
texture.  There are 3 animals from the original flock that I know of
that are heavily grayed.  All three happen to be lilac.
 
Micron testing on the 3 adult ewes I brought home this spring was done.
I have not yet sent in the 2 ram fleece samples, although they are
sitting here waiting to go.
 
Ewe #1:  Lilac and >10 years of age ewe average fiber diameter 29.0 with
7.0 micron standard deviation
Ewe #2:  Lilac and elderly ewe average fiber diameter 35.8 with 10.1
micron standard deviation
Ewe #3:  Black and White elderly ewe (almost no teeth left on gums)
average fiber diameter 31.8 with 6.2 micron standard deviation
 
Fleece types are quite variable in the flock, being all the way from
wavy to very crimpy (GASP, GROAN......THOSE MIGHT NOT BE REAL JACOBS).
Horn conformation is different on every single sheep as well.  In fact,
some of them got named and are kept track of by either their horn
conformation or eye coloration or a combination of the two.
 
Considering how hard we fight to NOT use animals with split eyelids,
too-tight horns, or other PHENOTYPIC genetic flaws, it has been quite
humbling to realize that the lead ram had multiple traits that should
have had him culled prior to ever being used the first time by most of
us today.  The traits he carried PHENOTYPICALLY were rarely transferred
to other individuals in the flock PHENOTYPICALLY.  This tells me we do
more messing up by selecting "registry" traits than by simply leaving
the animals alone.
 
MEH

Mary Ellen Hansson, ISeeSpots Farm 
Jacob Sheep:  Those horny, fuzzy critters 
Shop:  Knitting, crochet, spinning supplies 
www.iseespots.com (336) 854-6209 

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