Highland Hair Colors:
There are now seven Highland hair colors and some of them also have highlights.
The colors are red, black, brindle, dun, silver, yellow, and white
You may also see a Highland with a solid color and will have a highlight on it tail, on the backline, or in the forelock and even some may have highlights throughout their hair coat.
Black and Red were the two original colors of the Highlands.
For many years this was the case, but as they bred the two colors the actual gene that dilutes red and black color in the Highlands was detected.
The black animal can produce a dun or a silver dun offspring. A dun or silver dun can never come from two red Highland parents, nor from a white or a yellow colored parents.
There is a higher occurrences of black offspring from brindle parents.
Red colored Highlands can be full red in color, but there will be some quite obvious black hairs stippled around the face and down the neck and legs. This gene is needed to show up in the brindle coloring.
The gene that dilutes red and black hair color in Highlands has only been uncovered recently.
As their genetic make-up suggests, one dilution gene makes a red animal yellow, and a black animal dun.
Two dilution genes make a red animal white and a black animal silver dun.
Silver dun Highlands have grey pigment on their nose, and black pigment in their hooves and tips of their horns.
Hair coat color can change as the animal matures.
Most apparent color changes will be found in the black and dun animals. Many black and dun Highland calves are born a “chocolate” color that slowly is lost by the time they are 8-12 months old. You will see their underlying black color becomes more apparent. You will notice the amount of pigment around their muzzle is usually the best clue to changes.
You may even find yellow and red calves that can look the same when born and can change coloring later.
It is sometimes difficult to see the difference in a white and yellow calf when first born.
For more info on Highland colors go to this website:
https://www.scottishhighlandcattle.com.au/html/coat_colour_basics.html
This is just some helpful hints. We have also put colored pics of Highlands at different ages to compare your animal to see which color you put them as when you register them. Hopefully this will be helpful.