page_title: Jacob sheep
section_title: Wool and skins
hierarchical_section_title: Jacob sheep / Use / Wool and skins
caption_attribution_description: A Jacob breed ewe in full fleece.
context_page_description: The Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origin of the breed is not known; broken-coloured polycerate sheep were present in England by the middle of the seventeenth century, and were widespread a century later. A breed society was formed in 1969, and a flock book was published from 1972.
  The Jacob was kept for centuries as a "park sheep", to ornament the large estates of landowners. In modern times it is reared mainly for wool, meat and skins.
context_section_description: Jacobs are shorn once a year, most often in the spring. The average weight of the fleece is 2–2.5 kg (4–6 lb). The wool is medium to coarse: staple length is about 8–15 cm (3–6 in) and fibre diameter about 32–34 microns (Bradford count 48s–56s).
  In general, the fleece is light, soft, springy and open, with little lanolin (grease); there may be some kemp. In some sheep (particularly British Jacobs, which have denser fleeces), the black wool grows longer or shorter than the white wool. This is called "quilted fleece", and is an undesirable trait.
  While other British and Northern European multi-horned sheep have a fine inner coat and a coarse, longer outer coat, Jacobs have a medium grade fleece and no outer coat. Lambs of the more primitive lines are born with a coat of guard hair that is protective against rain and cold; this birth coat is shed at 3–6 months.
  Some individual sheep may develop a natural "break," or marked thinning, of the fleece in springtime, which can lead to a natural shedding of the fleece, particularly around the neck and shoulders. The medium-fine grade wool has a high lustre, and is highly sought after by handspinners if it is free of kemp. The colours may be separated or blended after shearing and before spinning to produce various shades of yarn from a single fleece, from nearly white to nearly black. Tanned Jacob sheepskins also command high market prices.
caption: Ewe in full fleece near Ewhurst in Sussex
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