[Jacob-list] Selective breeding

[Linda]

You can count on me to maintain a gene pool of missing eye patches - just in case you want to add something 'different' when the trait has been lost :-)  

Joking aside,  I don't think that diversity must necessarily include butt ugly (wonderfully descriptive term!) sheep.  I like pretty sheep.  I don't show sheep and don't really know much about what the judges are looking for in Jacobs.  Imagine it must be hard to agree on a show standard for such a diverse breed.  I raised and showed Quarter Horses for a number of years.  The different types of Jacobs can be pretty without being the same body/fleece/etc type the same way a QH can be pretty and so can an Arabian.  

This topic started with a mention of missing eye patches.  Mary Ellen points out some less visible, but more important, traits that we shouldn't lose sight of.  Without hardiness, we're going to have a hard time working towards whatever our other goals are.  

Linda
What's New at Patchwork Farm?

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 05:51:09 -0700 (PDT), Mary Hansson wrote:
> Cheryl (and all),
>
> You are so right, and I am glad to see you getting a chance (and
> TAKING that chance!) to see flocks.  It definitely gives you a much
> broader perspective.
>
> What concerns me greatly is a pattern I have
> noted---which mirrors the experiences reported by the breeders of
> the 1980's.....  There was WIDE diversity in body shapes, sizes,
> freckling, spotting PATTERNS, horn shape/number/conformation in the
> early sheep. Offspring results were also a bit more random.  I am
> guilty of cutting back on the diversity I talk about just like many
> on this list.  Please don't misunderstand.
>
> I see a general shift toward flocks that are much more uniform in
> appearance.  This shift is like the swing of the pendulum on a
> clock with the wide variety being the far left side and the
> "picture perfect Jacob sheep" on the far right side.  The problem
> being that after the pendulum moves towards the right, quite a
> percentage of sheep diversity has been lost through culling.  That
> diversity will be irretrievable.
>
> I can tell you from experience that bringing in sheep from
> "unknown" backgrounds is a risky, time-consuming, and extremely
> expensive proposition.  It is derided by even some highly
> influential breeders who cut their eye teeth on some of the early
> American Jacobs.  I believe that job is critical to the breed's
> future.
>
> I don't want to see the Jacob become as disease-ridden and survival-
> incompetent as many of the purebred cat, dog, pet and livestock
> breeders have created.  These problems were never intended by the
> breed associations while selecting for the traits they thought
> "most desireable" and "true to standard".
>
> History can and will repeat itself when it is
> forgotten and the lessons taught are not heeded.
>
> Mary Ellen
>
> Mary Ellen Hansson, MEd, RD, LDN
> ISeeSpots Farm
> Jacob Sheep:  Lambs, adults, wool
> www.iseespots.com
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