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Calico sheep are a type of sheep that have more than 1 colour within its coat. The colouring is due to a piebald mutation, but not a recognized breed. Calico Sheep can be bred by mixing Dorset, Suffolk, Shetland, and Katahdin to give the sheep its unique calico coat. These sheep tend to be very small and are often mislabeled as a true breed, when they are mere crossbred sheep that have interesting colour patterns.
Contents
Genetics
The calico mutation is due to an autosomal recessive gene, first reported by Roberts.
History
Calico sheep are not related to the black and white sheep that are native to ancient Sudan and to South Africa.
The modern mutation was developed by breeding Shetland sheep with Barbados Blackbelly Sheep.
References
Calico sheep Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA