[Jacob-list] Black Jocobs?

[Neal Grose]

An open fleece is easily recognized and desired by hand-spinners for it’s handle and ease of spinning in the grease. The technical characteristics are that it is relatively low in weight, has a relatively low wool follicle per square inch count (density), and If you were looking at a micron graph, it would have a rather high standard deviation of fiber diameter (but lower than we would see in a double fleece, which would show two distinct “peaks”). Mainly it is a characteristic that is lost with selection for wool in modern breeds. We always tread a fine line between edging towards a more profitable fleece and losing the essential character that we are preserving. What we want is in the middle.

Crossing a fine-wool (Merino) with a long-wool (Scottish Highland) may well give you a medium fleece and a spotted animal with nice horns, but it will always give you one that has a fleece far heavier than the 2 pound skirted fleece of our early Jacobs.

Neal

From: im rapunzil 
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 11:38 AM
To: nlgrose at yadtel.net 
Cc: Jacob List 
Subject: RE: [Jacob-list] Black Jocobs?

Neal, I am still relatively new sheep owner and have had mine for 2 years.  I'm not familar with the term "open fleece."  What does that mean?  Thank you!


A bright future is based on a forgotten past. One can't go on well in life until you let go of past failures and heartaches.


  
 


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From: nlgrose at yadtel.net
CC: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2012 10:30:51 -0400
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Black Jocobs?


Jacob X colored Corriedale is notorious for producing spotting, though they seldom have horns. You can get very nice horns in a Jacob cross if you cross to a Rambouliet(sp?) or other breed with symmetrical horns. It is still almost impossible to get the full gamut of true Jacob characteristics in crossbreds in 2 generations. The hardest trait to reproduce is the open fleece. Any other crossbred (with the possible exception of Finn) will have a heavier fleece than we should expect a Jacob to have.

Neal

From: Linda 
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 9:07 AM
To: Skye 
Cc: Jacob List 
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Black Jocobs?

If the non-Jacob half of the cross carries spotting, then the lambs could be spotted.

On 8/7/2012 11:07 PM, Skye wrote:

  Last year.. i deliberately let my Jacobs ram in with my other non jacob ewes as i was curious.. got some right cuties some look jacob.. some dont.. some horns.. some not..even have a real cutie thats brown with pure black face and legs ( im partial to him as he was a inside baby  his 2 sisters are pure black).. without knowing who the mothers are  for the ones that look jacob.. id be hard pressed to tell with a couple of them...the slight different shapes of the head helps me alot  :)


  On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 10:37 AM, im rapunzil <im-rapunzil at hotmail.com> wrote:

    I was at the Sussex County Farm & Horse Show yesterday, and in the petting zoo tent was two 4-horned solid black rams.  The sign in front of their pen said they were Jacobs.  I was not aware that they could be that color, and they were smaller than other Jacobs I've seen.  Can anyone here provide more information?  Thank you.


    A bright future is based on a forgotten past. One can't go on well in life until you let go of past failures and heartaches.


     









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