This is Valiant Brava as a lamb in Arizona, a couple weeks before coming to Boulderneigh. She is also a musket, but doesn't have all the "classic" Ag signs and has faded slower and less evenly than Braveheart.
This is Brava now, coated and uncoated. When she lost all her wool after getting sick this spring, her fleece grew in a lovely light chocolate mousse color.
It is getting lighter at midside...
but is dark on her topline. Her dam (in AZ) still shows a lot of color variation in her fleece, and has been described as "marlit."
Like Braveheart, Brava's head and legs show no seasonal fading, staying a constant shade of lighter brown. She has white hairs in her ears, but not the distinct Ag "sugarlips" or light hairs around her eyes.Next exhibit: a dramatic, changling grey.
That's it for now from . . .
5 comments:
I could sure be wrong, Michelle, but by looking at these photos I would say that Brava is actually Fawn. She doesn't look Ag as a lamb (no sign of sugar lips or ears). My fawn Shetlands start out looking moorit and just fade to fawn ~ that lovely "taupish" (chocolate mousse?) color. I don't have any Ag sheep in my flock (other than Alice, who is musket) but since using a modified ram, I've got LOTS of fawns. The fawns do NOT show the seasonal variations in their face & leg colors that the Ag sheep do. Perhaps what you are thinking of as Ag might actually be "modified"? Of course, there's an easy enough way to know that: are either of the parents Ag? Non of my modified lambs are from Ag stock, so I know they can not be Ag...
Brava's ears are what have always thrown me off, Nancy! They have always had lots of white hairs in them; still do. Could she have those and still be fawn? Also, my ram (who is obviously musket) doesn't show any seasonal changes, so that is making me assume that not all Ag sheep do. And I thought modified colors are supposed to be "pure" colors, not light and dark fibers mixed together. On Brava's side where she is getting lighter, it looks like it is from lighter fibers mixing with her "chocolate mousse." Keep giving me input, everyone. Like I said, I'm still learning. Would you like to see the photos I have of Brava's dam? She is registered as emsket but that has to be wrong because she is obviously brown-based.
Michelle - this is really interesting, and I don't even have any sheep!
Yes, show us the photos of Brava's emsket mother. Emsket can bleach out to look brown.
Brava could be fawn plus a lot of iset. Or she could be Ag with an unusual amount of dark fibers. I am really not sure what I think right now. But some of Beryl's sheep do come in interesting shades.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could actually change the color on a sheep's papers when it shows its true colors as it ages? That is one complaint I have about registering early...these sheep change colors! :)
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