BLACK

Theses sheep are born black but fade to chocolate brown this happens because of the sun fading the wool .They will return to black once shorn and then grow their fleece out till it turns Brown once more .
There are different shades of sun bleached black .

Black

Xbred Shorn black ewe 

Black (sunfaded )

Xbred Same ewe in Full wool  

Sun faded
​different shades 

Black sheep will return black once shorn 

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Rapid Fading Gene - Black

These lambs were born black but have a Rapid fading Gene this is a genetic inheritance
Sheep with this gene wool colour fades very quickly to a light black/brown colour.
They won't return to a jet-black colour when shorn but will always retain a light brown look.

Already very faded

Rapid Fading Gene

Example of fading gene after shearing 

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OFF WHITE 

Off white Babydolls is simply a white sheep with white fleece but in the babydolls case they are required to have colour on the legs and muzzle .This colour can range from Grey to Honey to caramel to brown But purebred off white babydolls can't have black legs or muzzles as that is a breed fault.
​They are born white and stay white the leg and muzzle colouring will fade as they age .

Purebred Ram

Ram lamb that's lost his muzzle colour and retaining some leg colour 

Pure Bred Ewe lamb

Ewe lamb with light muzzle and leg colouring

Purebred ewe 

Adult ewe with brown muzzle

Acceptable leg colours Range from grey, brown, caramel to Ginger 

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Moorit 

Moorit is the official term for a brown sheep although it looks visually red.
These sheep are born various shades of Moorit and fade in the sun like black sheep do. 
We only have two example to show, and these may or may not have the fading gene unfortunate not enough is known in babydolls with currently only Australia having Moorit in the breed.
Both these sheep are in the Appendix breeding program and are not Purebreds, but we do hope to one day have  Moorit purebred babydolls

Tanjar Rusty

Lamb

Tanjar Rusty

Lamb

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Tanjar Rusty

8 yr old 

Tanjar Mr Zippo as a lamb Son of Tanjar Rusty 

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Rare Transverse stripes

Not much is known about the rare Transverse striping Gene other than it fades as the sheep ages.
If lambs are shorn around six month and have the gene the pattern is visible.
We have found that it also makes the sheep fade to a lavender colour as they get older.
Currently the though is it may be sex linked somehow in our flock with mostly males expressing with no other females since the original ewe in 2015 Tanjar Zebs .
This may be a coincidence, but time will tell.
​Oddly we have also found all our rams will produce white testicle
sacks as they mature.

Tanjar Zebs

Tanjar Buckeye

Grandson of Tanjar Zebs

TANJAR ZEBS

4 YRS OLD

TANJAR BUCKEYE

3 YRS OLD

TANJAR BUCKEYE

4 YRS OLD

Unusual markings 

Using Appendix breeding programs allows us to select breeds that best compliment the babydoll to improve conformation, increase breed standard traits such as ear length, feet colour ,to improve and strengthen the fairly small gene pool allows us to make huge strides towards improving the current purebred ,During selection we quite often get some unusual patterns emerging . Here are some of them we have had over the years. 

Upside down Y 

The upside-down "Y" marking appears to be a distinctive Tanjar trademark. If you notice this trait, it may indicate that your Babydoll sheep carries some Tanjar genetics in its lineage. This feature was first observed in the Coloured Appendix program in 2012.
It's typically not noticeable at birth but becomes more apparent as the lamb matures. In many cases, the marking does not grow back after the lamb's first shearing.
Currently, this trait is only seen in Coloured Babydolls and can vary in both thickness and shape.

The White Nose Spot 

Another distinctive TANJAR trademark in coloured Babydolls is the white nose spot.
This marking often isn’t visible at birth but tends to appear and grow more prominent as the lamb matures.
In our experience, it's a trait that becomes more noticeable with age.
Interestingly, if you look closely, you can sometimes spot it even on white Appendix and Purebred Babydolls—just a fun little detail!.

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Example
​Development of the white nose spot over time 

This ewe didn't have the white nose spot at birth but developed over the years.
The older she got the whiter it becomes .

Tanjar Smokey as a lamb 

Tanjar Smokey as a Hogget
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Tanjar Smokey as a 6 yr old 

Another example 

Tanjar Matilda 

A little older

Old lady 

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"Our most refined white nose began subtly, growing more prominent until it looked
​ as though the ewe had dipped her muzzle in milk

Mottled 

Mottled
1. marked with spots or smears of colour:

"From time to time, we observe sheep developing white markings that were not present at birth. These sheep are all born black, with or without the rapid fading gene. While these markings were once thought to be caused by environmental factors, similar cases are now appearing in flocks in Queensland that share the same genetic bloodlines."

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Somatic Mutation ?

Tanjar Rumpelstiltskin 

This sheep displays a distinct dark patch on an otherwise lighter coat, which could be a somatic mutation.
What suggests a somatic mutation:

• The main coat color is uniform, but with a clear, irregular dark patch.
• The dark patch does not follow typical symmetrical or breed-specific marking patterns.
• This kind of pattern isn’t usually inherited or part of breed standards—it appears randomly.
• The rest of the sheep appears to have a consistent fading or dilution pattern, but this spot breaks that pattern sharply.

"A somatic mutation could have been a possibility, but the fact that it first appeared in the sire, then in the son, and now in a daughter strongly suggests that it is inherited rather than somatic."

Sire Tanjar Jinto

"We originally suspected the unusual flank spot seen in our coloured Babydoll sheep to be a somatic mutation, as it appeared on an otherwise uniformly marked animal. However, we’ve since identified the same distinctive mark in the sire, as well as in both a daughter and a son. This consistency strongly suggests that the trait is inherited, likely linked to a recessive or modifier gene affecting pigment distribution. We are currently tracking this pattern across our bloodlines and welcome contact from other breeders who may be observing similar markings."

Daughter Tanjar Soy Sauce 

Stay tuned for more Colors, patterns and shades