# Finally after all these years..........



## SillyChicken (Feb 7, 2014)

I got my Jacobs sheep!  I have loved them ever since I was a teenager and saw my first Jacobs ram.  I thought some day if I ever got a farm and could get some sheep. This is the breed I'll get!

Fast forward about 30+ years, I had a friend call me and tell me I could have her little Jacobs ewe.  She was with a herd of large Dorper sheep and struggling to get to the food. (hopefully she did not get bred, eeks!). She was a drop off at her farm (long story there) so they just gave her to me.. Penny (left) is very calm and loves getting her scratches!   Danika (right) is registered, I purchased from a breeder in MI.  She is pretty skittish yet but hopefully she settles soon.   She had been bred to a nice ram so hopefully she will have her lamb(s) at the end of April.

I can't wait to get them sheared this month as I plan to spin the wool (well, try to anyway).


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## bonbean01 (Feb 7, 2014)

Congratulations!!!!!  So happy for you!!!!


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## Four Winds Ranch (Feb 7, 2014)

Wow!  They are beautiful!!!! Congrats!!!


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## Pioneer Chicken (Feb 7, 2014)

How exciting for you! Jacob's sheep seem like a neat animal to have. : )


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## Southern by choice (Feb 7, 2014)

Congratulations!   

We got our Jacobs a little over a year ago. I wish mine were friendlier like my goats are but I can tell you the Jacobs are so trouble free! They really live off the land and eat more like goats.. trees, leaves, brush.... they never have parasites and ours came from a line that do not have the copper storage issues so no need to keep them separate from our goats... although we have been because they started ramming the goats. They are never nasty to us and come up for treats. We love the "tougher" wool.

Easy keepers this breed seems to be!


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## hilarie (Feb 7, 2014)

Don't you just LOVE getting what you want?  They're sure pretty....and keeping my fingers crossed for little Jacob babies


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## Sheepshape (Feb 8, 2014)

Congratulations,lovely sheep.

Can we have pics. when the babies arrive?


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## Mike CHS (Feb 8, 2014)

Congratulations on the long way home.   I first started dreaming about getting a little farm place when I left our family farm at 18 and since I'm kind of a slow mover, I didn't really act on the dream until this time last year when we bought our place that needed a lot of work. We are about 90% done now and it only took me 46 years to get to this point.


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## norseofcourse (Feb 8, 2014)

Congratulations on your sheep, they look beautiful.  I've been learning to spin too, and it's been frustrating at first, but fun, too.

Do you know anyone who spins that can help teach you?  You might be able to find a spinners and weavers guild near you, or find your local SCA group and chances are good you'll find some spinners there. (www.sca.org)


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## SillyChicken (Feb 11, 2014)

Thanks everyone, I think they're lovely too.   I'll share picts when the time comes... very few things cuter than lambs..... except for goat kids (which we are also expecting) and puppies!  

I plan to go to a fiber expo next month to get supplies, connections and pointers... they have a one day beginner spinner class, but it's 50$........ I think I'll figure it out myself at that price.  I started teaching myself to knit last night... it looks pretty bad!  LOL!


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## Roving Jacobs (Feb 11, 2014)

What lovely girls! If it's something you're interested in Penny can be registered too. The Jacob Sheep Breeders Association does registration by inspection so if she looks like a jacob (and she definitely does  ) she can be registered as a jacob.

Hopefully you have easy lambing and lots of adorable spotty babies!


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## hilarie (Feb 11, 2014)

There are excellent tutorials on YouTube for knitting.  Keep practicing, it gets better.  Make a lot of scarves and potholders


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## SillyChicken (Feb 12, 2014)

Thanks Roving, yes the fellow I purchased Danika from said the same.   I will be looking into it soon.

Hilarie, yeah.. and they make it look so easy!   One little slip up and it's all over... lol.   I've learned this several times... well, every time.   one thing I have learned.  Start out with a lighter yarn, the darker stuff is hard to see!


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## hilarie (Feb 12, 2014)

That's true.  And although you hate to "waste" good yarn, another thing I believe firmly:  use at least decent stuff.  If it's not pleasant to handle/work with, you won't enjoy knitting it.  It's the principle of the school band instrument. You don't want to spend a lot on something that might not "take", but playing a good instrument is so much more rewarding.


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## norseofcourse (Feb 15, 2014)

SillyChicken said:


> I plan to go to a fiber expo next month to get supplies, connections and pointers... they have a one day beginner spinner class, but it's 50$........ I think I'll figure it out myself at that price.  I started teaching myself to knit last night... it looks pretty bad!  LOL!



Do you have a wheel yet, or are you going to use a drop spindle?

I got a wheel last year, and a $50 class would have done me no good at first (besides, I'm cheap.... ummmm frugal).  I spent some time every night for a whole week, just learning to work the treadle to keep the wheel going (in the correct direction ).  A friend of mine who spins suggested this, and I was glad I spent that time.  I practiced, with no fiber, till I could keep the wheel turning in a smooth rhythm, without looking at it (most of the time).

Then when it came time to start spinning, it was a little easier (slightly!) to work the treadle as I tried to figure out how to hold the fibers and work with them.  It was still like trying to do six things at once   !  I could not talk, or I'd lose my concentration, and I don't think I was able to listen all that well, either!  My wonderful mentor would give me a pointer or two, and then leave me to figure out what worked best for me, stepping in only as needed or to give encouragement.  And sometimes I'd just sit and watch her or the others spinning.  This was a group of people (mostly SCA) who get together and spin, not a formal class.

By the third or fourth session, my fingers were finally figuring out what to do, I could treadle for longer periods of time (we're talking whole minutes in a row here!), and my yarn was getting a bit of consistency to it, sometimes...  LOL
They keep telling me that when you get really experienced at spinning, and you *want* to spin yarn with all kinds of fat and skinny variations like when you're a beginner, that you can't!  LOL  So I'm sitting there watching them, thinking "I wish I could do that", and they're sitting there watching me and thinking the same thing!


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## SillyChicken (Feb 15, 2014)

So far I have no supplies.  I was thinking of hand carders and a drop spindle..cause I don't have a ton of cash for a wheel.... and I'm not sure if I'm going to like working with it.
I was down with the sheep last night and notice Penny seemed a bit "wide".. I hope it was just ruminant activity.  She was exposed to a large Dorper ram before I got her, I was hoping he wasn't able to cover her.   I worry for her.  I do know that the other ewes she was with are dropping their lambs now so if she is, it could be anytime.  I think I'll get her CDT shot to her this weekend just in case.    The one I hope was bred isn't showing any girth..and I don't know if this is normal not to show much until later in the game.


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## SillyChicken (Mar 19, 2014)

Yes, I love it when things work out!  DH said go ahead and get a ram lamb!  
this won't happen until the end of summer, but I'm excited about it.   The ram won't be related to the ewe or her offspring due end of April.  So, keeping fingers crossed for an ewe lamb!  We've cleared up a bunch of our financial obligations so hopefully this also means we'll be able to put up more pasture too!


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## SillyChicken (Mar 24, 2014)

spent the weekend playing with my carder and drop spindle......... Haven't gotten the knack of carding yet.  I think I'm either working it too much, or the wrong way .   I spun some chunky yarn, double plied it, set the yarn... It's hard to know if your spinning it too much, or too little.   I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet...It was fun though.


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## SillyChicken (Apr 29, 2014)

Well... the day I was thinking wasn't going to come.......DID!!






We have a little ram lamb!!!


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## Ruus (Apr 29, 2014)

Yay! He's so cute!


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## SillyChicken (Apr 30, 2014)

First the bad news............ I need glasses! 

The good news is................after closer inspection ............... he's a SHE!!!   I could not be happier about this!


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## Ruus (Apr 30, 2014)

Yay! That's even better!


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## norseofcourse (Apr 30, 2014)

Congrats on the beautiful ewe lamb!!!  But we need more pictures...


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## Sheepshape (May 1, 2014)

Gorgeous.


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## SillyChicken (May 6, 2014)

well, not so good news, our other jacobs girl had her baby today.  It was still born.  Poor girl.   Hopefully next year will be better for her.

I'll try to get some other picts of the lamb posted.............need help with a name too!  I am horrible with names!


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## SillyChicken (May 21, 2014)

We have been looking to add a young ram lamb from another breeder in the area.   We have a fellow picked out but waiting for him to develop more.  I'm not sure yet if I will keep him with my billy, I woory about them sparring and my billy getting hurt since they fight under different rules.   I may just opt to fence another section off just for him.  I guess all that will depend on how he behaves.


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## SillyChicken (May 21, 2014)

Lamb naming.. her daddy's name is Roddy, I thought well then her name should be piper then.. but DH says no cause his bosses dogs name is piper....... what difference does that make?


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## SillyChicken (Jun 27, 2014)

Things progress quickly, I got our new little ram lamb last weekend... he is registered as lilac, and has some super soft wool.   I hope he will help improve our wool in future lambs.
His name is Sweetgrass Serenade....... cause he sang to me the whole ride home!


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## Roving Jacobs (Jun 27, 2014)

He's a real looker, I'd bring him home in a heartbeat. Congrats!


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