[Jacob-list] horny question :o)

[Linda]

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On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 12:00:36 -0400, Mary Hansson wrote:

>
>QUESTION:  Are we breeding progressively smaller-horned and weaker-horned
>rams and ewes when we are eliminating from the gene pool rams with horns so
>large that they touch on 4-6 month old rams?
>
>I know that Edd has talked about wanting a finger of space between horns
>when ram lambs are born, and you basically have to have this sort of space
>for the horns to be separated when the animal is an adult.  That does
>promote the "picture perfect Jacob ram" image.
>
>When 4-horned ram lambs are born with all 4 horns the size that you see on
>2-horned ram lambs.........what does one do?  Breed for bigger heads to
>support these very large and more massive horns so they won't touch?  This
>would most likely lead to birthing difficulties.  Cull for smaller horn
>bases on 4-horned rams?
>


Close set horns are not just a result of big horns.  Horn placement is also a 
factor. You can certainly find close set small horns.  There is also a matter 
of the horns fitting the head. One ram at three years had massive horns, still 
about an inch spacing and a huge head. Another yearling ram has plenty of 
spacing, long, but not huge horns and a smaller head.  Both have sound horns 
that fit their heads.  I personally would not want to use a ram lamb that had 
horns touching at two months.  I've kept a few just to watch them grow and they 
invariably had problems.  As the horns grew, the horns would pull apart, oozing 
and bleeding from the join.  In one case, at 15 months, the top horn was quite 
massive while the lateral at the base had been squeezed to about an inch.  I 
feel certain that he would have eventually lost that lateral.  This seems to 
happen frequently when the angle of the top and lateral is close to 90 degrees. 
 I would consider the above example to be a perpendicularly fused horn.  I 
consider horns like that to be weak and a soundness, not an aesthetic, issue.  
Therefore I tend to avoid them.  Horns that are parallel fused - as in evenly 
fused four horned that appear two horned - seem to be quite strong.  Neal's 
Onan looks to me to have a very strong hornset and is more acceptable to me 
than my ram lamb I mentioned.  Each lamb's horns will grow differently and each 
lamb needs to be evaluated individually.  The surprises are what makes raising 
four horned Jacobs so interesting!
Soundness is of primary importance to me.  The issue of birthing difficulty if 
we breed for large heads is an interesting one.  We certainly do not want to 
sacrifice soundness and hardiness for aesthetics.  I think we can have both.

Linda

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