Sheep Colour Chart

Shetland Sheep Society colours and markings. There are eleven main whole colours in Shetland sheep, with many shades and variants in between. Sheep can come in a number of different shades of various colors including white, black, red, cream, gray, and brown.

They can be solid or have an interesting pattern of colors on their coats of wool or hair. It really all depends on their breed, bloodline, and genetics. Genetics play the main role in determining what color a sheep will be and, over the years, sheep breeders have finely tuned.

Fiber tips retain the birth color, as the new wool growth becomes paler in color until the process is complete, usually after the 6th to 8th month of age. Please note, there is a difference between this form of gray and the age. Shetland wool comes in one of the widest ranges of colors of any breed.

Click the links below to see examples of some of the many colors. White Greys to Black (listed from light to dark) Light Grey Grey Emsket - dusky bluish-grey Shaela - dark steely-grey, like black frost Black Browns (listed from light to dark) Musket - light greyish-brown Fawn Mioget - light moorit (yellowish. Bersugget - Having irregular patches of differing colours Bielset - Having a circular band of a different colour round the neck Bioget - With a white back and darker sides and belly, or vice-versa Blaeget - Having a lighter shade on the outer part of the wool fibre, especially in moorit and dark brown sheep.

Blaget - White, with irregular dark patches resembling ground partly snow covered. The appearance of your sheep is made up of options of color, pattern, and spotting. Note: The letters and numbers given below are the code "shorthand" used to indicate color/pattern/spotting of the sheep at registration.

They are derived from Adelsteinsson's pioneer work on the inheritance of color and pattern in Icelandic sheep. Shetland Sheep Colors, Markings, Patterns, Fine Fleece Shetland Sheep Association, Characteristics, Traditional 1927. There are at least six primary sheep colors, from brown to red to cream to gray.

Some sheep have multiple colors (a white body and black head, for example). The image of a fluffy white sheep grazing peacefully in a green field is iconic. But how many of us have stopped to consider the true diversity of sheep colors? Beyond the classic white, a vibrant spectrum of hues adorns the woolly coats of these gentle creatures.

Understanding the range of sheep colors not only reveals the fascinating world of genetics and animal breeding but also sheds light. Colors & Markings One of the unusual aspects of Shetland Sheep is the broad variety of colors and markings found in the breed. The names used to describe markings are the original ones used by the Shetland Islanders to describe their sheep.