Bitterroot Katmogets
By Linda Wendelboe

Judy Colvin of Bitterroot Ranch acquired Welglen Swoopes in 1997 as a yearling.  Judy recognized the Katmoget pattern and also understood that it was a rarity in North American Shetlands. 

Swoopes with lambs at Bitterroot

Judy bred Swoopes to Cochran Randy and got two Katmoget lambs; a ewe lamb, Two Medicine and a ram, Badger. Both sheep lightened up somewhat as they aged but they have gone on to produce offspring that have held their patterns quite well.  In subsequent breedings to solid rams, Swoopes has had only solid and Katmoget offspring in both black and brown tones, indicating that she carries Aa as well as her katmoget allele.

Judy used Badger extensively resulting in an impressive list of Katmoget progeny.  Many have quite dark markings and some have lightened to be very pale.  Both the Bitterroot ewes shown below have the light chin typical of Light Badgerface patterns even though the one is quite dark in pattern.   They do seem to have some lighter fibres in the nipple/groin area but it would be better to examine ewe lambs to determine if they exhibit this as part of their pattern as it might be attributable to age greying or seasonal change in mature ewes.

Judy also purchased Sheltering Pines Keenan, a Cedric Katmoget offspring.  She used him to add a second Katmoget bloodline to her breeding program.   Keenan did not keep a full Katmoget pattern but lightened up in the typical Light Badgerface fashion to pale Moget face at maturity.

Judy hoped that breeding Keenan to Bitterroot Katmogets would reinforce the pattern and result in offspring with distinctive, darker patterns that would not lighten.  Unfortunately, the offspring did not stay dark but also but lightened up in the typical Light Badgerface fashion.  The colour genetics theory previously discussed (See Katmoget Genetics) would predict that any AlbfAlbf progeny (a possible example is pictured below)  would be quite pale.

A number of Bitterroot Katmogets and their ram lambs have been examined and found to display the light chin and scrotum/groin area that is characteristic of the Light Badgerface pattern but this is a fairly small sample and ewe lambs need to be added to it.   Many do hold on to full darker face, chest, and belly markings but coupled with the lighter chin, etc.  For some of them, the light chin is just a dusting of white fibres, as is the case with Bitterroot Jasper, pictured at the bottom of the page.  

The darker Bitterroot Katmogets can also produce Katmoget offspring that lighten up in the typical Light Badgerface manner, even when their other allele is Aa.  The ram pictured below is the offspring of a very dark Bitterroot katmoget ewe.

One conclusion that can be drawn is that the Bitterroot Katmogets and perhaps the other Dailley Katmogets are the Light Badgerface pattern of the Albf allele or something similar to it, distinct from Ab.  They exhibit a range of intensity in pattern at maturity that can vary from face markings only to full Katmoget markings.  Additional data is being collected to document the range of pigmentation found in the Bitterroot Katmogets and determine with more certainty if they fit the Light Badgerface description.

Bitterroot Katmogets are now represented in flocks all across North America, adding an important pattern component to North American Shetlands.