[Susannah]

Can a two horned ewe and a two horned tup produce four horned offspring?
I feel I should know but even after googling I am confused.
Many thanks.

[Slimjim]

I don't know the likelihood or possibility of that, but I have kept a few 2 horned Jacob ewes for 4 lambings using a 2 horned Jacob tup and it hasn't happened yet. No doubt there will be more valid comments from folk who keep big flocks of J's.

[Fleecewife]

No.

4 horn is dominant, so can 'hide' the 2  horn gene, which can pop up later, but 2 horn sheep cannot 'hide' the 4 horn gene.

Occasionally a four horned tup (usually the tup) will have fused horns, so his four look like two, and will be in a similar position to a 2 horned head, though often a bit wonky.   You can tell because there is a 'seam' down where the two join, and sometimes the tip separates a bit.

Otherwise, someone's been jumping the fence 

[Susannah]

Thank you so much for your replies! Yes we did have some fence jumpers but I didn't know which one had done the deed. It's good news though!  Thank you again. Fu

[Fleecewife]

Hi Fu    Don't you have your Hebs any more?

[Susannah]

Oh Juliet! I still think that Hebs are most interesting, pretty, fascinating little sheep but I'm afraid not for me! Callum was a lovey boy and produced lots of great lambs (I had is skin cured too) but unfortunately the characteristics of their mothers was dominant! I could never handle them cos I could never catch them. They would run through seven electric wires or jump over and they could jump sheep gates. I could feed them and they would come to me no problem but I could never then get behind to enclose them. If there was another person there they 'knew' and would not come near. Hence this year some unplanned lambs. In desperation I phoned Kenneth and he bought the whole lot. It took the best part of a week and two systems to catch them. We had to put sheep hurdles on cattle gates with rye lock on top to keep them in.
My horn question was about my Jacobs. They were in with the Hebs but I managed to separate them in September and remove the tup lambs but it was obviously too late as I found out in January! I am so happy though that the two horned tup isn't the father of the four horned lambs as they are beautiful little girls!
To any body reading this, not all Hebrideans are like mine. I was a total novice when I got them and maybe there were things I should have done at the beginning and didn't. I may even try with them again in the future but I would only buy if I could see them being caught and handled first! 

[Fleecewife]

Oh what a shame.  I wish you'd let me know, as there are tricks to get them handleable and yours would soon have settled down.  Still, Jacobs are very lovely, and the lambs are such perky, cute little things.  I miss mine, but they were too big for us to handle eventually.