[Jacob-list] Freckles

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

Fred Horak here.

Jacob lambs most often appear to be clear spotted at birth until sheared.  At 
the time of shearing a number of freckles may appear.  Some freckles appear 
as black skin, some freckles seem to be black fiber from white skin.  The 
black fiber is eumelanin which is rooted in the melanin dermis.  The ultra 
violet rays seem to exite the production of melanin and eumelanin.

As the Jacob ages the number of freckles grows exponentially and may "bleed" 
together as an ugly, ill defined spot.  The freckling seems to be accompanied 
by leg markings.  Freckling may well be a dominant trait.

The description of the parents (freckles w/ leg markings front and back) and 
the watchful eye of any appearance of freckles on the lamb as it ages is a 
worthy endeavor.  

There seem to be interesting analogies with Merinos which are supposed to be 
white with no black fiber or spots at all.  The signs of a "bad" Merino are 
black stripes in the hooves and horns, black pigment in the nose and lips, 
black around the eye and eyelash.  If a Merino has a black mark on a hind 
leg, there is an extremely high likeihood (90%) that it will develop black 
fibers.

The Jacob and Merino are reverse images. The Jacob is a dominant black, the 
Merino is a recessive black.  

Fred