Lilac Two Horn Ewe Look-Alikes

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Most Jacob sheep are black and white, but those with spots that are grayish-brown or brownish-gray are called Lilac. It is often difficult to tell a lilac sheep from a black and white sheep simply by looking at the sheep in full fleece. Even spots that are truly black may appear brown because the tips are sunbleached, but underneath the fleece is black. This is one reason that even the blackest Jacob yarn may have a brownish cast. Look at the facial markings to tell the true color.

These two rams are a good example of the difference between lilac and black. That is Meridian Silverado on the left and Patchwork Townes on the right. The color difference between these two is obvious, however sometimes it’s hard to tell if you’re looking at black markings or something that is lilac, but on the dark side.

Head view of two horn Jacob ewe.

This is a ewe named Lupine. She looks dark in this photo but she is lilac. Her dam and grandsire on her sire’s side are both lilac.

This is a handspun shawl I wove last summer using wool from Beauty, a black and white sheep. As I was weaving I knew that I’d run out of the black wool, so I spun some of Lupine’s wool to fill in. That is the gray part before the v of the shawl. (This shawl is for sale here.)

The original intent of this post was to show several ewes that I sometimes get mixed up—they are two horn lilac ewes and I think they all look similar.

Two horn Jacob ewe with mostly white face.

This ewe is Meridian Foxy.

Two horn Jacob ewe with gray markings.

Meridian Vixen.

Two horn Jacob ewe with lilac (gray) markings.

Meridian Lavender. Vixen’s and Lavender’s ear tags (ID tags in the left ear) are 6046 and 7046 so that is another way to get them mixed up.

Two horn Jacob ewe with gray (lilac) markings.

Meridian Belle.

Two horn Jacob ewe with gray-lilac markings.

Meridian Bessie. Belle’s and Bessie’s numbers are 9006 and 9060, another reason to lose track.

Two horn lilac (gray) Jacob ewe--head shot.

The other ewes were all bred and born here. This is Patchwork Amara from Georgia.

These are full body photos of the ewes above. This one is Foxy.

Two horn Jacob ewe with lilac-gray markings.

Vixen.

Two horn lilac Jacob ewe.

Lavender.

Two horn Jacob ewe, lilac coloring.

Belle.

Two horn lilac Jacob ewe.

Bessie.

Two horn lilac Jacob ewe with blue marking from ram.

Amara.
Can you tell why I get these mixed up?

I won’t mix up these sheep, but they point out more of the variety of lilac coloring. From left to right this is Axis, Thorn, and Bravo. Axis is a yearling and the other two are March 2022 lambs. Thorn is a black and white ram, although his wool looks very dark brown in this photo—remember, that is because the tips are sunbleached. Axis and Bravo are both lilac rams but there is a big difference in the look of the wool.

Two Jacob rams with two horns and gray markings.

Axis has the gray wool typical of my lilac Jacob ewes. Bravo’s wool is a bit browner. This photo makes him look a light brown, but that is those sunbleached tips again. Wait for shearing day for some interesting photos of the fleeces.