[Jacob-list] comment on "those wild Jacobs"

[Betty Berlenbach]

Compared to wild dogs,...I am surprised, however, that your jacob didn't do in the dog...must have been more than one of them.  Or perhaps it was because of her advanced pregnancy, that she thought flight might be better than fighting.  My girls have beaten up a pitbull who threatened their babies.  I have a friend whose rams took on a pack of coyotes one fall, and did much damage, though so did the coyotes.  The "wildness" in the jacobs enables them to stand up to predators, instead of just running, like those nice, calm, brainless standardized breed sheep we've messed up so much with our selective breeding!
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Melody 
  To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:23 PM
  Subject: [Jacob-list] comment on "those wild Jacobs"


  I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I just have to share this story about the "wild and crazy Jacob sheep".  I've been told several times that Jacobs are not tameable, that they are too wild, that they are too hard to handle because they're flighty and so on.  Well, tonight one of my wild flighty Jacobs was attacked by a dog who managed to get into the pasture.  I didn't see the attack, just found the results when I went out for evening feeding.  Fortunately it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  My sweet old Butterfly was hiding in a corner of the outside shelter with one hind leg, hip and flank sliced and gashed.  The vet says nothing broken, and while she isn't using the leg there is probably no permanent damage to joint structures, just  a lot of muscle damage. But this wild and flighty Jacob stood unrestrained except for my hand resting on her neck and rubbing behind her ears, and leaned her head against me while the vet shaved , cleaned, clipped ragged flesh, and cared for the wounds.   Yep, can't tame them.  Too wild.  
  Barring infection, Butterfly should recover in time.  She is due to lamb in 3 1/2 weeks, the jury is still out on whether this will cause her to abort, but I'm going to trust to Jacob resilience and prayer on that.
  Wild and flighty Jacobs my eye!
  Melody


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