Frequently asked questions
Is the Babydoll Southdown a new breed or Still In development?
The Babydoll Southdown is often misunderstood as a new breed or still in development. However, it is important not to be misled by such claims, including those made by breed societies outside of the main registries, AABMGS and ASSBA.
In fact, the Babydoll Southdown has been registered with the breed society, AABMGS since 2016 and was recently separated from Southdown in the ASSBA Southdown Flock book to have its very own section under Babydoll in 2020.
Once upon a time the Babydoll Southdown was simply the smaller type of Southdown but in the last 8 years the Babydoll (For short) has gone thru quite a few breed transitions and is now recognized as a separate breed from the Southdown by both ASSBA and AABMGS in an attempt to preserve both breeds.
The societies views on crossing a Southdown with a Babydoll are no longer in the best interest of the breeds.
The Babydoll Southdown is an example of a breed that has now split into two separately called names, while still being essentially the taller and smaller versions of the original Southdown breed. The larger version of the breed is referred to as simply "Southdown," while the smaller version is known as the "Babydoll or Babydoll Southdown" to differentiate between the two sizes. Although once they were technically Southdown sheep, they have become recognized as separate breeds due to the significant size difference and now distinctly different characteristics.
To better understand the distinction between the two, one can think of other examples of breeds or species of animals that have two separate names for differently sized versions For example, the Australian Cattle Dog and the Queensland Heeler both refer to the same breed, with the former being the standard size and the latter being a smaller version. Similarly, there are several breeds of horses, such as the Miniature Horse and the Shetland Pony, which are essentially the same but have different names based on their size and type.
With the incredible advancements in breeding over the years and such Tools as Lamb Plan the Southdown breeders now have a much different type than it once was with such breed traits as longer Cannon bones, longer necks, longer ears, longer backs, less wooly faces and wooly ears, much longer distance between eyes and muzzle so it's easy to see why the breeds are now considered separate.
The Babydoll Southdown is often misunderstood as a new breed or still in development. However, it is important not to be misled by such claims, including those made by breed societies outside of the main registries, AABMGS and ASSBA.
In fact, the Babydoll Southdown has been registered with the breed society, AABMGS since 2016 and was recently separated from Southdown in the ASSBA Southdown Flock book to have its very own section under Babydoll in 2020.
Once upon a time the Babydoll Southdown was simply the smaller type of Southdown but in the last 8 years the Babydoll (For short) has gone thru quite a few breed transitions and is now recognized as a separate breed from the Southdown by both ASSBA and AABMGS in an attempt to preserve both breeds.
The societies views on crossing a Southdown with a Babydoll are no longer in the best interest of the breeds.
The Babydoll Southdown is an example of a breed that has now split into two separately called names, while still being essentially the taller and smaller versions of the original Southdown breed. The larger version of the breed is referred to as simply "Southdown," while the smaller version is known as the "Babydoll or Babydoll Southdown" to differentiate between the two sizes. Although once they were technically Southdown sheep, they have become recognized as separate breeds due to the significant size difference and now distinctly different characteristics.
To better understand the distinction between the two, one can think of other examples of breeds or species of animals that have two separate names for differently sized versions For example, the Australian Cattle Dog and the Queensland Heeler both refer to the same breed, with the former being the standard size and the latter being a smaller version. Similarly, there are several breeds of horses, such as the Miniature Horse and the Shetland Pony, which are essentially the same but have different names based on their size and type.
With the incredible advancements in breeding over the years and such Tools as Lamb Plan the Southdown breeders now have a much different type than it once was with such breed traits as longer Cannon bones, longer necks, longer ears, longer backs, less wooly faces and wooly ears, much longer distance between eyes and muzzle so it's easy to see why the breeds are now considered separate.
2021 Ewe lamb
Coloured and Appendix ewes
What breed are these sheep registered in AABMGS?
They are registered as a Babydoll Southdown's. AABMGS take both white and coloured Babydolls including providing pedigrees for any appendix registered sheep. The records are kept with the Register who will provide owners with a full pedigree to the 4th generation. They also use an online Pedigree tool Premium breed which AABMGS members can choose to join which includes photos of registered stock and information of offspring. Where did this breed originate from? Babydolls are a British breed and are classed as a meat sheep The wool is classed as a down's wool. If I buy a Modern Southdown ewe how many generations have you found it takes before the height of the Babydoll takes over? In our opinion and from our 13 years of Breeding Our records show it takes at least three generations from a Modern Southdown to start to get the major Babydoll smaller genetic traits starting to showing up in the offspring We have observed the modern Southdown breed traits such as long ears and necks are quite dominant traits, sometimes more generations are required sometimes less We have also found that the older genetics of the Modern Southdown pre 2000s were often smaller than they are today. This is because -- --Southdown Breeders have spent as much time refining their breed traits and selecting the best genetics for their breed as the Babydoll Breeders have This has resulted in Amazing Quality Southdown's that are becoming more genetically distant from the babydoll breed as each generation is bred.
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What height should a Babydoll be?
Currently, our Australian stud book ASSBA does not have a height restriction on Southdown's, but the ASSBA Babydoll breed standard has a height published at 45 to 61cm but Babydolls registered with AABMGS must be under 62 cm. Babydoll sheep diet? Our sheep graze on pasture grasses. During the summer months when the grass is at its driest our sheep are fed a mixture of local WA sheep pellets and turned out on hay feeders containing our farm-grown meadow hay rolls. Why are Babydoll sheep used in vineyards and orchards? Sheep love vines and orchard leaves and babydolls are no exception. What makes them so different is their height and short length, due to this combination these little sheep find it quite difficult to reach up as high as the taller sheep breeds. Babydoll sheep gestation and how many lambs can they have? Our sheep have shown they range in gestation from 142-152 days with an average of 147 days. Babydoll ewes can have singles, twins or triplets even Quads. Babydoll sheep uses? Babydolls are classed as a meat sheep and were originally developed to provide a substantial amount of meat on a small, easy-to-handle sheep. When do babydoll ewes come into season? Babydolls are a British breed and therefore only breed when the days get shorter Typically that is between March to Sep sometimes longer depending on the state you are in. How do you know that your ewes are pregnant? During the breeding season, our rams are fitted with a mating mark ram harness with coloured chalk attached. This lets us know which ewes have been mated so we can determine what date an individual ewe will lamb. Ewes come into estrous every 17 days from March onward, so we change the ram's crayon colour every 17 days and any ewes that fail to get re-marked with a new colour are assumed pregnant. What do you use to measure their height? We use the Piccolo miniature horse measuring stick. It measures heights from 30 cm to 100 cm. . Do Babydolls have horns? No, they are naturally polled but they sometimes have small scurs. How long do Babydoll Southdown's live? Babydolls have a life expectancy between 10-16 years. Wethers typically live longer followed by ewes and rams. Do Babydoll sheep make good pets? Yes, they have lovely temperaments and respond well to human interaction. Babydoll lambs make great pets for children. Do we have any American Babydoll bloodlines in Australia No Although we have taken the name there is none of their genetics in Australia. Do we have any Olde English bloodlines in Australia? No this is also an American babydoll breed and we have none of these breeds genetics in Australia. What are your sheep registered as in the Australian stud book ASSBA? Our stock is registered both Southdown and Babydoll. Why Southdown: This allows breeders to register Southdown in the flock book and continue to breed the Babydoll type Southdown how they originally began from the Southdown Breed, One with 200 plus years of breeding history in Australia. But ASSBA do not recognize Colour and have no height requirements. Papers include only the parents and the Maternal Sire. Babydoll: This is for breeders to register Babydoll sheep in the brand new ASSBA flock book. But ASSBA do not recognize colour and have a height restriction. Papers include only the parents and the Maternal Sire. We have stock registered in both societies, so it is important to only select the lambs that have the relevant papers for the ASSBA flock you are registered in. Please Note ASSBA Southdown's and ASSBA Babydolls are recognized by ASSBA as two different breeds now so can't be interbred to provide purebred offspring. For Example : You will not be able to breed a Southdown Registered ewe with a Babydoll Registered ram and register the offspring as a Purebred Babydoll with ASSBA in the Babydoll flock book. You will not be able to breed a Southdown Registered Ram with a Babydoll Registered ewe and register it as a Purebred Southdown with ASSBA in the Southdown flock book. 
The Babydoll Southdown is a smaller and more compact version of the original Southdown breed, with a shorter head, legs, and body size. It also has a more docile and friendly temperament, making it a popular choice for pets. |
Do babydoll sheep eat vine leaves ?
Absolutely! All sheep love to eat the vine leaves ,The only difference between a babydoll and a Merino for example is the height and structure of a babydoll makes it difficult for them to graze the higher vines as they find it difficult to stand on their back legs to reach .They will of course stand on any structure you can give them that will help them reach thou.
Do wethers,ewes or rams make the best pets ?
Wethers (Desexed/Castrated males) makes the best pets , Ewes can be temperamental and Rams are not suitable as pets
If i run my ewe lambs with my ram could they get pregnant early ?
Yes ,They can mate and fall pregnant at 8 months ,To avoid early pregnancies we recommend separating all rams and or Ram lambs from your ewe lambs until they mature. Some Babydolls ewes can be quite small at 8 months old.
Why do some lambs have more wrinkles
than others? At this time it seems to just be a breed trait in certain Babydoll bloodlines.
All the lambs below are purebred Babydoll Southdown's but are displaying various degrees of wrinkles.
Interestingly if all these lambs were shorn they would all have the same smooth necks, the wrinkles are in the wool, not in the neck skin folds. All the lambs in the photo are acceptable Babydoll Southdown's and are all registered with ASSBA and AABMGS.
than others? At this time it seems to just be a breed trait in certain Babydoll bloodlines.
All the lambs below are purebred Babydoll Southdown's but are displaying various degrees of wrinkles.
Interestingly if all these lambs were shorn they would all have the same smooth necks, the wrinkles are in the wool, not in the neck skin folds. All the lambs in the photo are acceptable Babydoll Southdown's and are all registered with ASSBA and AABMGS.
Why do some Babydolls look like their legs are not straight?
as an adult
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 as a Lamb
DO BABYDOLLS HAVE KNOCK KNEES ? The way the wool is grown over the knees and the way the wool grows over the shoulders. This can give the impression of wonky front legs OR Knock Knees . These photos show the same ewe Tanjar Little Spice as an unshorn lamb and as an older ewe after shearing. As you can see, her legs are a lot straighter and they have gotten further apart as she has matured. |
Why do Babydolls look so different as they get older?
Babydoll lambs are born with the fluffy lower legs that are often a mousy-ginger colour.
They can have a lot of beard or only just a small amount, some of them are also born with quite woolly faces and woolly ears.
Because Babydolls require shearing they look a lot different once all their wool comes off.
The ewe below is Tanjar Little Bear as a lamb thru to an adult,
Babydoll lambs are born with the fluffy lower legs that are often a mousy-ginger colour.
They can have a lot of beard or only just a small amount, some of them are also born with quite woolly faces and woolly ears.
Because Babydolls require shearing they look a lot different once all their wool comes off.
The ewe below is Tanjar Little Bear as a lamb thru to an adult,
Do Babydolls need shearing? Yes Babydolls require shearing once per year. Their wool is quite short, they are not a self shedding breed. We have our Babydolls shorn in the months of August to October here in Western Australia.
Looking for a shearer? Click the link to go to our shearer's Facebook page www.facebook.com/yourlocalshearer/
Looking for a shearer? Click the link to go to our shearer's Facebook page www.facebook.com/yourlocalshearer/
What is the wool classed as?
Babydoll wool is classed as a downs wool and is often used in the carpet making sectors.
Wool short, dense and fine texture .Wool is covering the whole body down to the hocks and knees.
Babydoll wool is classed as a downs wool and is often used in the carpet making sectors.
Wool short, dense and fine texture .Wool is covering the whole body down to the hocks and knees.
Why do you shear your lambs faces?
Babydoll lambs are renowned for their wonderful woolly faces, this is one of the features of our Australian Babydoll Sheep but woolly faces come summer also mean grass seeds.
To combat this we have all our lambs' faces wigged (shorn) by our experienced NZ shearer.
This ensures our lambs don't get our WA grass seeds in their eyes. It makes the lamb look slightly less adorable, but it is essential for there everyday health and safety.
Babydoll lambs are renowned for their wonderful woolly faces, this is one of the features of our Australian Babydoll Sheep but woolly faces come summer also mean grass seeds.
To combat this we have all our lambs' faces wigged (shorn) by our experienced NZ shearer.
This ensures our lambs don't get our WA grass seeds in their eyes. It makes the lamb look slightly less adorable, but it is essential for there everyday health and safety.
Can babydoll sheep Get TOO FAT ?
Being a meat sheep and early maturing babydolls can get quite fat and often can paddle with their legs due to the short statue and wide loads ,Ewes that get to fat as hoggets can have fertility problems and lambing issues.
All these things can be corrected by maintaining good weights for both ewes and rams.
Being a meat sheep and early maturing babydolls can get quite fat and often can paddle with their legs due to the short statue and wide loads ,Ewes that get to fat as hoggets can have fertility problems and lambing issues.
All these things can be corrected by maintaining good weights for both ewes and rams.
Babydoll sheep care:
To ensure that our Babydolls get the best care year-round, they are routinely wormed on a rotation, targeting seasonal worms such as Barbers pole worm and using combination wormers to cover the other gastro-intestinal worms such as scour worm, brown stomach worm and tapeworms.
We vaccinate all lambs at 8-12 weeks of age with Ultra Vac 5 in 1 to prevent the major clostridial diseases in sheep, for the prevention of enterotoxaemia (pulpy kidney disease), tetanus, black disease, malignant oedema (blackleg-like disease) and blackleg including swelled head in rams. Lambs receive 1 ml in their first dose with a 2nd 1ml dose four weeks later.
Adults are vaccinated with 1 ml annually. Our breeding ewes also receive a pre-lambing vaccine one month before lambing to ensure their lambs are properly covered at birth.
All our stock are shorn once a year and back lined with Extinosad and treated with Clikzin .
We also mineral drench throughout the year to provide adequate mineral supplements to all our stock from lambs right through to mature ewes and rams, we also provide mineral blocks for everyday maintenance.
Following the Western Australian Department of Agriculture Livestock identification requirement, all our stock are tagged with a NLIS (National Livestock Identification System) tag which is colour coded for the year of birth (our Pic number is branded on the ear tag). Right ear for Females, Left ear for Males.
Ear tags are now the readable type so can be read by any handheld scanner for easy integration into your management program.
We routinely trim hooves. Heights are taken at 12 months old.
All our sheep are given selenium and cobalt pellets at 6 months old; the pellets are a sustained release supplement used to treat and prevent selenium and cobalt deficiency in sheep.
Our rams are Brucellosis Accredited which means they have tested negative to the Brucellosis disease.
Ovine brucellosis is an infection that can affect all breeds of sheep and is caused by a bacterium, Brucella ovis (B. ovis).
Infected rams become infertile.
We are part of the Ovine Brucellosis Accreditation Scheme (OBAS) No 605 our rams were blood tested Sep 2020 and all returned a negative result to B.Ovis(Not due again till Oct 2023)
To ensure that our Babydolls get the best care year-round, they are routinely wormed on a rotation, targeting seasonal worms such as Barbers pole worm and using combination wormers to cover the other gastro-intestinal worms such as scour worm, brown stomach worm and tapeworms.
We vaccinate all lambs at 8-12 weeks of age with Ultra Vac 5 in 1 to prevent the major clostridial diseases in sheep, for the prevention of enterotoxaemia (pulpy kidney disease), tetanus, black disease, malignant oedema (blackleg-like disease) and blackleg including swelled head in rams. Lambs receive 1 ml in their first dose with a 2nd 1ml dose four weeks later.
Adults are vaccinated with 1 ml annually. Our breeding ewes also receive a pre-lambing vaccine one month before lambing to ensure their lambs are properly covered at birth.
All our stock are shorn once a year and back lined with Extinosad and treated with Clikzin .
We also mineral drench throughout the year to provide adequate mineral supplements to all our stock from lambs right through to mature ewes and rams, we also provide mineral blocks for everyday maintenance.
Following the Western Australian Department of Agriculture Livestock identification requirement, all our stock are tagged with a NLIS (National Livestock Identification System) tag which is colour coded for the year of birth (our Pic number is branded on the ear tag). Right ear for Females, Left ear for Males.
Ear tags are now the readable type so can be read by any handheld scanner for easy integration into your management program.
We routinely trim hooves. Heights are taken at 12 months old.
All our sheep are given selenium and cobalt pellets at 6 months old; the pellets are a sustained release supplement used to treat and prevent selenium and cobalt deficiency in sheep.
Our rams are Brucellosis Accredited which means they have tested negative to the Brucellosis disease.
Ovine brucellosis is an infection that can affect all breeds of sheep and is caused by a bacterium, Brucella ovis (B. ovis).
Infected rams become infertile.
We are part of the Ovine Brucellosis Accreditation Scheme (OBAS) No 605 our rams were blood tested Sep 2020 and all returned a negative result to B.Ovis(Not due again till Oct 2023)
Examples of what we look for when purchasing Purebred Breeding Stud Babydoll Rams and Ewes.
(Note: Graded sheep may vary and not contain all the desirable traits but are useful in an Appendix breeding program and Wethers who may have been wethered as they didn't meet the standard as Stud Rams but can go on to make perfect pets.)