Ooops...We're meant to be "all-white" around here!!

Genetics came out to play on Auckland's Coast to Coast Tours farm today, with the birth of a black lamb, and it came as a bit of a surprise as the sheep are "all-white" on this farm.

Originally (back in time), sheep were black [which was the dominant gene]. Man has selectively-bred the white sheep (for the wool industry), but the black gene is still forever present in the white sheep. Black wool often appears as a freckle or patch, and every-so-often a full black lamb is born.

Owner's Stu and Donna have named this lamb 'Naomi' (and are dreading shearing-time!!!) as this black wool will have to be kept very much separate from the white wool of their other sheep (due to the risk of "contamination"), something that would significantly downgrade white wool destined to make light coloured products!