Why are some sheep black?

George says, "Because they forgot to take a bath."

sheep101.info logo

Baa Baa Black Sheep

White Wool 

Most modern domesticated sheep grow white wool. This is because white wool is more desirable in the commercial marketplace because it can be dyed any color. However, sheep with white wool may have different color faces and legs.

White sheep
Crossbred Ewes in Virginia

Carding a lamb
Naturally Colored Sheep in Maryland

 Colored Sheep

On the other hand, hand spinners, weavers, and other wool craftsmen often prefer to work with "natural colored" wool. Wool is naturally produced in many beautiful colors: black, gray, silver, moorit, brown, and red.


Red twins 
Katahdin Ewe and Lambs in Maryland


 It's All In the Genes

It is not uncommon for black or colored lambs to appear in a white flock. However, in order for this to happen, both of the lambs parents must be carrying a gene for color.

Fleece Inheritance 

The inheritance of fleece or coat color in sheep is quite complicated. Different genes control what color the fleece will be, what pattern it will be, and whether the fleece will be solid or spotted.

Color Genetics in Icelandic Sheep
Colour Genetics in Spaelsau


Merinos 
Black and White Merinos in New York

Changing Colors

The lambs of some breeds are born black or red and their fleeces will lighten as they get older.


Portland lambs  
Portland lambs in Somerset UK
Photo courtesy of Beer Mill Farm


Jacob ewe
 Jacob Ewe

Photo courtesy of
American Jacob Sheep Registry

 Spotted Fleeces

One of the most uniquely colored breeds is the Jacob. The Jacob's fleece is described as white with black spots. The white wool grows out of white skin, while the black wool grows out of black skin. The Jacob's spotted fleece is referenced in the Bible. Prior to the 20th century, Jacob sheep were referred to as "piebald" sheep.


Black Katahdin ewe
  Black Katahdin Ewe in Maryland


 Get Your Markers In

In the "Old West" a few colored sheep roamed the ranges. These animals were used as "markers", one for every 100 range sheep. The old timers counted the sheep and said, "once your markers are in, your flock is in".

 


. . . New Words . . .

Gene - the fundamental physical and functional unit of heredity.

Inheritance - attributes acquired via biological heredity from the parents.

Moorit - brown; comes from the Icelandic word "moorut" meaning "as red as the moors."

Piebald - English term for body color of white with black patches.

 

 


Choose a topic from the drop down list



This web site is optimized for screen resolutions of 1024 x 768 and higher. You can change your screen resolution by right clicking your mouse on the desktop, then clicking on properties, followed by settings. The web site contains a lot of images and pages may take awhile to load on computers with slow connections.

About the SITE | SITE MAP | About the PHOTOS | About GEORGE

Last updated 20-Aug-2006 by Susan Schoenian.

 

Bouncing sheep Go baaaaa . . . ck to Sheep 101 home page

Sheep 101 is affiliated with sheepandgoat.com and baalands.com.