In New Zealand, where merino sheep are plentiful, every once in a while a farmer finds a lamb with straight, lustrous hair, rather than curly fleece. The coat is similar to that of angora goats, and sometimes farmers speculate that these lambs are the offspring of an angora buck and ewe. Researchers have found that these “felting lustre mutants” are not hybrids, just sheep with mutations. The lambs often don’t survive to breeding age, possibly because of other genetic problems or because they lack the fleece to keep them warm and dry in wet, windy weather.
New Zealand scientists have found a hardy felting lustre mutant who not only survived a winter outside, but also produced a lamb when bred with a normal merino ram. The offspring also has straight hair. Researchers are hoping that they can eventually introduce the traits into other flocks. The result might be merino sheep with lustrous, silky hair/wool that does not felt.
Sources: Study of mutant sheep provides exciting new opportunities. AgResearch. NZ. Eloise Gibson. The strange sheep that baffled scientists. BBC Future. 17 May 2017.