New to sheep

[Roving Jacobs]

Lovely bunch! Are some of them crosses? Jacobs are pretty flighty but also curious so I'm sure they'll get used to you soon. A little bribery never hurts

 

[MrsCedarstone]

I think they are Jacobs only. 2 were born polled. Flighty and curious fits them exactly! Haha they are already starting to lose their fear of me enough so that they will come up to me but if I move they take flight. I do bribe a little. They are really loving the amount of grass here. It is about just a little over the ankles and everywhere. They didn't know where to start! They were so funny today running a few feet, stop for a bite, run over to another spot, taste some weeds, then start over.

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I've never heard of a purebred polled jacob. Especially with so few spots on their bodies, I'd guess that something else has been bred in at some point. Doesn't make them any less cute

 

[MrsCedarstone]

I've never heard of a purebred polled jacob. Especially with so few spots on their bodies, I'd guess that something else has been bred in at some point. Doesn't make them any less cute

I hadn't either. I was reading about that being an American Jacob trait. They are being bred to be polled. I did notice the few spots. I suppose that is how they are creating the"polled Jacobs" crossing them with something. Any ideas what it might be?

 

[Roving Jacobs]

American jacobs are more likely to have 4 horns, while british jacobs are more likely to have 2 horns, no purebred jacob should be polled and I'm not sure of anyone who is breeding for polled jacobs. There is a polled spotted breed called the harlequin sheep that probably started as a jacob cross. Do you have any pictures of their sire? The most likely thing to cross them with would be something like a shetland or icelandic but its hard to tell. Your polled ones look like they're a bit stockier/heavier than a lot of jacobs I've seen (which are pretty lean and deer-like) so they could have been crossed to something like a dorper or katahdin too to get a meatier sheep a few generations back.

I'd be interested to see what breeder they came from originally. I love going through pedigrees on the JSBA website and finding all my girls' relatives!

 

[MrsCedarstone]

American jacobs are more likely to have 4 horns, while british jacobs are more likely to have 2 horns, no purebred jacob should be polled and I'm not sure of anyone who is breeding for polled jacobs. There is a polled spotted breed called the harlequin sheep that probably started as a jacob cross. Do you have any pictures of their sire? The most likely thing to cross them with would be something like a shetland or icelandic but its hard to tell. Your polled ones look like they're a bit stockier/heavier than a lot of jacobs I've seen (which are pretty lean and deer-like) so they could have been crossed to something like a dorper or katahdin too to get a meatier sheep a few generations back.

I'd be interested to see what breeder they came from originally. I love going through pedigrees on the JSBA website and finding all my girls' relatives!

Yes the horned one has 4 and is more deer like than the other two. I don't have a photo of the sire. But I seen the sire to the smallest polled one. The breeder they came from was from Shipshewana, Indiana. I don't know who though...