| Desirable 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 thought the muzzle patch may be absent |
| | | | |
EARS:
| Small, erect and slightly above the horizontal
| White, colored or spotted |
|
EYES:
| Clear, bright eyes, no evidence of split upper eyelid deformity
| Color: brown, blue, or marbled |
|
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 |
|
| |
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 |
| | | |
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 |
| | | | | |
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)
| Fleece staple length is 3-7 inches, fleece weight 3-6 lbs, with
little grease and high yield |
| | | |
Acceptable but less desirable traits
HEAD:
| Having only one of the three facial markings
| Slipped (below the eye) eye patch or patches
| Pink nose on young lambs
| Slight tendency to Roman nose
| Young lambs, up to a maximum of 6 months of age, showing baby wool
forward of the horns |
| | | |
EARS:
| Slightly larger but proportional to body |
EYES:
| Grade 2 or 3 split upper eyelid deformity causing no injury to the
eye which would require surgical intervention |
HORNS:
| 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 |
| |
|
LEGS:
| Slightly cow hocked
| One to three dark colored legs
| White hooves |
| |
BODY COLOR and FLEECE:
| 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 |
| | | |
Unacceptable/Disqualifying Traits
HEAD:
| Absence of facial markings
| Wool forward of the horns
| Large, square non-Jacob looking head |
| |
EARS:
| Large pendulous ears and/or disproportionate to body |
EYES:
| Grade 3 split upper eyelid deformity or more, causing discomfort
or injury to eye
| Wide, broad bone structure between the eyes |
|
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 ram, 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 |
| | | | | | | | | |
LEGS:
| All dark colored
| Wool present below the knees and hocks |
|
BODY CONFORMATION:
| 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:
| Fleeces grading 60 Bradford count or higher
| Fleeces grading 40 Bradford count or lower
| 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 fiber
are shorter than the white or vice versa)
| Excessive freckling in the white wool of young animals |
| | | | | | | | |
|
