[Jacob-list] two horned sheep

[Mark Essen]

A big Thank you goes out to Robin for her report of the stats.  I would 
never have dreamed that two horned Jacobs were so plentiful.
As many of you know, I have been raising Jacobs for more years than most 
and was a proud member of JSBA for all of my early years.
In Missouri there are Jacobs flocks all over the place.  I do not know 
very many that are registered.  But, many of these flocks are of 
excellent quality.  The problem is finding all of these small flocks.  
It is not uncommon for me to run into somebody that sees me wearing a 
JSBA t-shirt and comes up and talks about their own small flock.  As it 
turns out, the easiest way to find a Jacobs breeder is go to an exotic 
sale.  There are at least two in Missouri that happen six times annually 
that have great Jacobs.  There are at least five other sales or swaps 
that have Jacobs routinely, although the quality should be questioned.  
Then there is the Small Farm Show that has two JSBA members exhibiting 
every year.  At the sales and swaps, you may or may not get papers, but 
never pay a premium for registration.  People just do not care.  I have 
bought some good quality ewes that continually produce good quality 
lambs that have been registered in a variety of small registries. I 
think the availability of good quality unregistered stock is one reason 
that Missourians are not quick to join an association.  I think another 
reason is that there are a variety of registries that accept Jacobs.  
Five years ago I think I counted six different registries that would 
take my money for a certificate.  My background is JSBA so that is the 
one that I prefer, but new people have no clue so just do not bother.
At least, that is my thoughts.
As a side thought, breeders in Missouri cannot afford a mature four horn 
quality ram at auction.  The shooting ranches always have more money.  
Breeders buy younger stock and hope they turn out well.

On 9/6/2011 1:27 AM, Carl Fosbrink wrote:
..........snip

> *    Missouri is one state where few people raise registered Jacobs. 

> Mark can probably enlighten us on why this is. I always suspected it 

> was because they have the exotic sales there that other states do not 

> have and this gave them a market that most other states do not have.*

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