Sheep

[Allen Crisp]

Q from one of my children. Why is it that you see sheep with a) white wool and white faces, b) white wool and black faces and c) black wool and black faces but not d) black wool and white faces? I've seen loads of sheep in my time, but don't remember ever seeing a category d.

[drochit]

I think you'll have a hard task to find black sheep with white faces. I know of one breed, The Finnsheep, which sometimes has black wool and a white face but they are natives of Finland, The Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep has a black body, mainly white head and a white tail. The only breed in the UK that is completely black is the Black Welsh Mountain. There are fewer black sheep than white because there is less demand for black wool as it can't be dyed. That's the extent of my sheep knowledge so I hope that others can add to this.

[sddsddean]

I saw a field of very dark chocolate brown sheep with white faces and legs at Great Easton (north of Corby) earlier this year. Their lambs were black, but I have no idea what breed they were.

[Gef]

Not an expert but the chocolate brown sheep could have been Jacobs sheep.

[drochit]

Gef unless you mean that Jacob is the name of the sheeps owner you are probably wrong. The breed of Jacobs sheep are normally white with black or brown spots, blotches or mottling. They also have horns. Some have 2 and others have 4 horns. They are a very distinctive breed.

[Jacob]

No, Gef's roit, them sheep were moin. I did wonder where them'd got to.

[chef]

i eat 'em...........baa