I'm going to look at some jacobs sheep tomorrow that I'm considering buying is there anything special that I should be looking for to avoid future problems ?...........Jay

-- jay (jay@townsqr.com), May 27, 2000

Answers

If you are buying for a member of JSBA they should spend time with you looking at desirable traits of the breed as well as undesirable traits. Depending on how big their flock is they will probably have some animals that will end up as freezer lambs because of poor horn growth, unusual horn growth, etc. There is a website at www.jsba.org that has a lot of good information about these sheep. When we first started with our flock the owners spent at least an hour with us out in the barns showing us desirable and undesirable lambs. I'd encourage you to visit the above mentioned website before you go and evaluate why you are looking for Jacob sheep.

The qualities that you will look for in the fleece will be different is you want their fleeces for handspinning or if you just want them for colorful lawn mowers. The seller should discuss the pros and cons of each fleece with you.

Tomorrow we, too, are going to look at some more Jacobs. We currently have a flock of 12 and are purchasing a new ram for our next lamb crop. We purchased our Jacobs for a couple of different reasons. We desire to help preserve rare breeds and we (I) am anxious to learn some fiber crafts that have yet eluded my craftier side.

Enjoy your Jacobs, we've found them to be beautiful, personable animals. Polly

-- Polly (oakridge@netcommander.com), May 28, 2000.