There are breed specific spots as well as random spotting. Preferred facial markings consist of two colored eye patches and a colored muzzle. Body conformation is considered to be rather goat-like. They are hardy, good foragers, disease resistant and will thrive under various conditions and managements. Jacobs lamb easily and are good mothers.
Twins are common.
Jacobs have recently been re-designated as a rare breed when it was discovered that the British Jacob has lost it's primitive breed characteristics in an effort to improve the breed to fit the modern marketplace. The original, small, primitive Jacob essentially no longer exists in the British Isles, only in the U.S. and Canada where efforts are being made to retain the primitive character of the breed so that that fundamental genetic material will not be lost.