Saturday, August 25, 2007

Jacob Sheep

We knew early on in our fiber addiction that we had to have sheep. We blame Doug Ramsey of La Plata Farms (he gave me a shepherds’ crook and I needed to have something to use it on :-) ).

We spent a long time deciding what kind of sheep to get. We needed a breed that was going to be able to withstand our climate; We wanted a breed that would be ‘easy keepers’ and would browse and graze and lamb easily without constant attention and huge expenditures; We wanted a breed that we could help such as an endangered or rare breed; We wanted a breed that would be distinctive and, for the lack of a better word, pretty to look at; We wanted a breed that supplied us with great wool in a variety of colors and textures.

We try to let nothing go to waste here on the Laffing Horse Farm and so we were also looking for a breed that produced lean, tasty lamb and beautiful shearling pelts.

We had almost made up our minds and settled on Jacob sheep. We read that their fleeces were much sought after by handspinners in the book “In Sheep’s Clothing.” We talked to chefs and breeders around the world via email and phone and they told us that the lamb was prized for its delicate taste.

After all the searching it turned out that a shepherd not 20 miles away had a flock of Jacobs he was wanting to part with and voila, the decision was made.

So we got them and only then did we discover that this breed was fun and intelligent, too. They have very distinct personalities!

Now we have everything we were looking for and have fleeces, fiber, lamb, pelts, breeding stock and wethers for handspinners for sale. Give us a call.


Sage - A Jacob Sheep Ram

A flock of coated Jacob Sheep near their 'home.'

Jeanette shows off with Pancakes at the Gunnison Wool Festival in 2003.

Caruso is King!