[Jacob-list] Jacob lilac question

[WenlochFrm at aol.com]

I'm trying very hard to understand what Neal and Fred have said. Fred, isn't 
Sponenberg saying the opposite of what you are saying? "Lilac is 'not 
black'." Doesn't he mean it is not eumelanin? And, is it possible lilac is a 
dilute? That's where I started. I originally thought it was, and I wish it 
was, because it was all quite simple then, but on asking Sponenberg that 
question over a year ago, he said it was highly unlikely knowing what he knew 
about sheep color genetics. And, I also get bogged down in possibilities 
outside of the standard Jacob dominant black. Knowing that there has been 
outside influence (otherwise known as fence jumpers) within the breed, how 
can you, Fred, be so sure that it isn't possible to have pheomelanin in the 
Jacob lilac? One reason I ask is because last year I saw a lilac ewe that was 
red with a brownish cast. The closest I can come to describing it is the red 
you see on Tunis sheep. Tunis are supposed to be pheomelanin (I think). Have 
any lilacs been tested for pheomelanin to rule it out? As for the rest of the 
information from both of you, I'm going to have to do a lot of thinking to 
try to get it all straightened out in my mind.

One other thing, though. The lilac ram here produced a b/w son from a b/w 
dam. He has white hairs above his eyes within the black eye patches. I'm not 
sure if this is the halo people refer to on the lilac carriers, but this ram 
became terribly greyed by the time he was a year old. Not the usual greying 
that starts on the hindquarters. This is all over including the cape. He is 
maybe 60% greyed. Are we sure some of the greying we see in our Jacobs is not 
from the greying gene, but maybe coming from a lilac carrier?

Joan Franklin
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