The Jacob Breed Standard is divided into three categories:

  • Desirable traits
  • Acceptable but less desirable traits
  • Unacceptable/disqualifying traits


Desirable traits Acceptable but less desirable traits Unacceptable/ Disqualifying Traits
Head:
  • Slender and triangular head
  • Clear of wool forward of the horns
  • Large symmetrical eye patches incorporating the cheeks
  • Clear white blaze from poll to muzzle
  • Straight profile
  • Nasal septum and mouth should be dark pigmented in adults even though the muzzle patch may be absent
  • Having only one of the three facial markings
  • Slipped (below the eye) eye patch or patches
  • Pink noses
  • Slight tendency to Roman nose
  • Young lambs, up to a maximum of 6 months of age, showing baby wool forward of the horns
  • Absence of facial markings
  • Wool forward of the horns
  • Large, square non-Jacob looking head
Ears:
  • Small, erect and slightly above the horizontal
  • White, colored or spotted
  • Slightly larger but proportional to body
  • Large pendulous ears and/or disproportionate to body
Eyes:
  • Clear, bright eyes, no evidence of split upper eyelid deformity
  • Color: brown, blue, or marbled
  • Grade 2 or 3 split upper eyelid deformity causing no injury to the eye which would require surgical intervention
  • Grade 3 split upper eyelid deformity or more, causing discomfort or injury to eye
  • Wide, broad bone structure between the eyes
Horns:
  • Color: black or black and white striped
  • Rams:
    • Any number provided they are well differentiated (cleanly separated) and balanced
    • Flesh between horn bases
    • Two horned rams should have wide, well spaced horns with good clearance of checks, nose, and mouth at maturity
    • Lower horns should be well spaced from face, cheeks and neck
  • Ewes:
    • Horns firm, fine featured with femininity, balanced, and well differentiated
  • Rams:
    • Fused even horns
    • Slightly forward tipping horns which do not impair grazing
    • Insufficient spacing between upper and lower horns (must be differentiated and balanced though flesh may not be present)
  • Ewes:
    • Unbalanced horn set
    • Fused horns
    • Ewes with scurs in place of lower (secondary) horns
  • Polled sheep, or sheep with scurs only.
  • Two-horned rams having small, weak, feminine looking horns.
  • Multiple-horned rams having fewer than four strong horns, with scurs in upper or lower horn position. (it is fully acceptable for rams with at least 4 or more strong balanced horns to have additional scurs or horn buds)
  • Two-horned ewes having small or weak horns.
  • Multiple horned ewes having scurs in the primary/top horn position
  • Solid white horns
  • Forward pointing horns curling towards the eyes, or growing over the nose impairing the ability to graze naturally
  • Narrow or close horns on two horned rams that lack space between the growing horns and his neck or jaw, encumbering his well being
  • Undifferentiated and unbalanced set to four horned rams, i.e., fused in an irregular pattern on one or both sides
  • Small, feminine horns on rams
  • Lower (lateral) horns that grow into the face, cheek or neck
Neck:
  • Medium length
Tail:
  • The natural Jacob tail reaches almost to the hock
  • Is wooly, not hairy
 
Legs:
  • Set square on all corners, standing firm, well-balanced
  • Fine boned and of medium length
  • Free of wool below the knees
  • Color: white with or without colored patches
  • Hooves are black or striped
  • Slightly cow hocked
  • One to three dark colored legs
  • White hooves
  • All dark colored
  • Wool present below the knees and hocks
Body Conformation:
  • Mature rams weigh between 120 and 180 lbs.
  • Mature ewes weigh between 80 and 120 lbs.
  • Long framed, smooth muscled with well-sprung ribs
  • Fine boned with straight back
  • The rump slopes toward the tail head
  • Rams have short scrotums holding testicles closer to the body than modern breeds
  • Ewes have small udders held closer to the body than modern breeds
 
  • All conformational and/or congenital defects leading to unsoundness for breeding
  • Large, heavy boned
  • Fat or short tailed
  • Rams over 180 lbs.
  • Ewes over 130 lbs.
  • Long, pendulous scrotal sacks on rams
  • Large, loosely attached udders on ewes
  • Excessively large teats on ewes
Body Color and Fleece:
  • The Jacob is a randomly spotted sheep, basically white with colored spots or patches
  • Preferably an approximate 60% white and 40% black or lilac spotting
  • Skin beneath white fleece is pink, skin beneath colored spots dark
  • Fleece is a medium grade with an open character and soft springy handle (Bradford count 44-56, demi-luster / 26.40-36.19 microns)
  • Fleece staple length is 3-7 inches, fleece weight 3-6 lbs, with little grease and high yield
  • Random colored patches on front half of body only
  • Not less than 15% colored markings nor more than 85% color
  • Patches of color with some bleeding, mottling or freckling
  • Small amount of freckling in white wool
  • Small amount of kemp
  • Fleeces grading 60 Bradford count or higher (23.50 microns or finer)
  • Fleeces grading 40 Bradford count or lower (38.09 microns or coarser)
  • Double coating
  • More than 85% colored markings
  • Less than 15% colored markings
  • Short, brittle fleeces with heavy kemp
  • Fleeces on adult sheep which shed
  • Fleeces weighing 8 lbs. or more
  • Excessive quilted appearance to the fleece (where the dark fibers are shorter than the white or vice versa) occurring after the first shearing.
  • Excessive freckling in the white wool of young animals