[Jacob-list] color- rookie question

[Brenalan Farm]

Hi, everyone! This is my first posting and my second year of Jacobs. I really enjoyed browsing the archives and learned a lot. Thanks for sharing!

I have done some reading about the genetics of color but am looking for some simple rules of thumb or practical experience regarding prediction of % color. I have seen % ticking/ size of piebald areas in a few litters of dogs (where # of offspring/ litter was 10+) and it seems pretty random within the litters- darks and lights. I was surprised at how dark a couple lambs were this year. Let's not consider crossbreeding in recent generations... I am not too good at gauging % black and white, but was thinking I was taking two 30% black parents and getting half 60-70% lambs and half about the same as parents. None that were lighter than parents. To complicate the question, I only had 4 lambs that I bred, so this might just be random. I feel like I am trying to predict the next card in the deck based on one blackjack hand! Even if I had all the flock books, I am not sure how to weigh the color of sheep in pedigrees vs. what to expect in the next generation. To tell the truth, it looked pretty random and left me thinking I should prioritize for quality of fleece and head. But- since I have some lambs that are pretty dark I don't want to make mistakes that would push my genetics too far towards that end of the spectrum. The basic question is: Does one generation substantially lighten or darken a flock, or do you change percentages gradually over several generations? Anyway, thanks in advance for whatever advice you can share.

Brenda
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Brenalan Farm
Toledo, Oregon
541.336.2158
www.brenalanfarm.com
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