Lilac Jacobs Sheep?

[Beekissed]

Patchwork, your sheep are beautiful! Do you ever get in the way of those horns? Those are wild looking!

Not sure why they call that coloring lilac? Usually in the animal world, lilac indicates almost a blue/grey overall coloring.

 

[discombobulatedshepheress]

Hey,

I also started raising Jacob's sheep *wave to Linda @ Patchwork* and lilac is a diluted black or gray color. They are wonderful primitive sheep and I wouldn't trade mine for anything. We are starting with 2 and hoping to get to 12.

I actually got tangled up in my wether's horns a few weeks back and by the bra strap no less. I just kept wondering who was going to win.

I've read sheep only need their hooves trimmed twice a year? I keep an eye on mine and they seem to grow much slower than the goats do, but is this true?

 

[patchworkfibers]

Hey Jen,

The need to trim hooves varies. It's more of just watching and trimming when they need it. I have adult ewes that I have never trimmed their hooves and some I trim a couple of times a year. Jacob hooves do not need to be trimmed as often as goats or many other breeds. If they are in muddy conditions (like we get around here in the spring), they need to be watched more carefully than in this dry spell we have now.
Lilac can also be a chocolate color, which is the lilac I breed for.

 

[Beekissed]

My Katahdins only seem to need it once a year, so I do it in the fall before they go into their winter pen.

 

[jbourget]

i raise jacob sheep too, and althought i donot have any lilacs, i know what it is. they are just a tad lighter were the black would be. some people like them and keep them to breed but i like the blacker spots. Thats the only difference

 

[patchworkfibers]

There are actually a completely different color than black.

 

[jbourget]

yes like a light gray

 

[patchworkfibers]

I breed for chocolate lilacs, which range from deep chocolate to light taupe. I don't care for the light gray (blue) lilacs that much. The wool is no different in color from the wool on an early grayer. I'm looking for a unique color in my lilacs.
JSBA calls any color that is not black "lilac". Some of these lilacs do not breed true and some are actually just poor blacks.