The Sheep of Jacob’s Reward Farm  

Several years ago, my friends, the Horaks, introduced me to Jacob sheep and even gave me one, Frosty, who lived on their farm. I loved his small size, lovely fleece, and the idea that I might one day learn to spin his wool. Then I bought another sheep, Antony, and boarded him with them as well. What kind of a goober boards sheep? Me. (I lived in the suburbs at the time, what else could I do?) I was learning about knitting and spinning, shearing and cleaning fleeces. A dark crossbred Jacob was born on their farm, and I had to have him as well because of his soft, dark fleece. Frosty and Antony were eventually sold, but I kept Israel, of the chocolate fleece.

Jacob sheep got their name from the story in the Bible (Genesis 30) of the patriarch Jacob, who conducted the first recorded selective breeding program. Jacob was to receive all the black and spotted sheep and goats as his wages from his father-in-law, so he set out to breed as many as he could. With hard work and perseverance, Jacob became a very wealthy man. The Jacob sheep is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean area of the world, and is distinctive with its polycerate, or multi-horn characteristic, beautiful spotting, and deer-like carriage.

The day I became a shepherd, I was not at all prepared. We had not been moved into our little rural house very long, when Joan Horak called and said that Israel was limping and needed a place to recover without all her other sheep pestering him. In 98 degree weather, DH and I cobbled together a secure pen for him, and he traveled to our property. After a couple of weeks, it was clear that he was miserable alone, so Fred brought over Tommy, another Jacob wether, to be his pal. It was a great combination, because Tommy’s fleece is predominantly white, contrasting with Israel’s dark wool. I was on my way.

Next, I added alpacas, whose story can be found here.

After some time, it seemed silly for us to be mowing such a large yard. Surely we could fence the north side of our house and put some meat sheep there. I did some research about different breeds, but stumbled on a local lady who raised Suffolk crosses. I bought three of her ewes who were possibly bred, and installed them in the new north paddock. Since their future was unclear (would they end up in the freezer?) their names were Number One, Number Two, and Number Three. In due time, Number Two gave birth to a bouncing baby ram lamb, named Number Two Point One, since he would surely be destined for the dinner table. But I’m learning in the farm biz, that we never say “never.” Mr. 2.1 was wethered, and became quite the pet. And he turned out to have kind of a nice fleece! I made the decision to keep him and send the three ewes off to “summer camp.” That wether lamb is now known as “Shadrach,” because he escaped the fiery furnace. (See Daniel 3:13-30)

With the extra room, I started thinking about a small breed called Babydoll Southdown sheep, as a compliment to the fiber herd. Babydolls have a short fleece, but it is very soft, and the sheep themselves are thrifty and easy to handle. Serendipitously again, I discovered a lady near me who was selling a black Babydoll ram lamb. I had to have him. He became one of the herd immediately and is as sweet as he can be. He even got to go to our church’s Blessing of the Pets because of his wonderful nature and small size. His vertical challenge helped give him his name: Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). I hope in the coming years that he will become the father of many Babydolls.

I guess sheep are kind of like potato chips – one leads to another and another. I also was recently gifted with a sweet little Barbardos Blackbelly ewe, who I named Lucy. I’m hoping Lucy will help us clear the scrub and weeds in our far-north pasture, as we work toward taming all of Jacob’s Reward Farm for production.