Our flock of Jacob Sheep started with two ewes (Rebecca and Dinah) and one ram (Reuben), all of whom we received from Diane Hutchison of Windebrae Farm (Valley Center, California). Jacob Sheep take their name from the episode in Genesis where Jacob acquires all the spotted sheep from his father-in-law, Laban. Although these sheep are not, in fact, ancient Near Eastern sheep, the story gives a good basis for naming individual sheep. Jacob Sheep are, however, primitive sheep, having retained a number of characteristics uncommon in many modern breeds, including their characteristic spotted (or piebald) fleece. Jacob Sheep are considered a heritage breed of sheep, listed by the ALBC as threatened,
meaning that there are fewer than 1,000 annual registrations in the United States and an estimated global population of less than 5,000. First brought to the United States from Britain in the mid-twentieth century for display in zoos, the exotic look of these sheep was likely responsible for their survival from ancestral eighteenth century stock of disputed provenance as for centuries they were kept as curiosities in British parks and zoos. Jacob Sheep are not just attractive to watch; their fiber is particularly valued among hand spinners and they also display good meat conformation. As Jacob Sheep are polycerate (possessing multiple pairs of horns) among both males and females, I am hoping they will be particularly appropriate for a niche market I'd like to enter into of producing and selling horns for liturgical usage: to hold chrism for anointing at the sacrament of confirmation.
Our animals are either registered or in the process of being registered with the Jacob Sheep Conservancy. See their individual pages for their pedigree and photographs:
Those interested in more information about the Jacob Sheep breed should see Ingrid Painter's Jacob Sheep in America (1997), available directly from the Painter's Puddleduck Farm.