Your business tag line here.

  -Use, process or sell fleece

   - Breed and sell to offset care costs or for a profit

   -Teach about animal love, compassion and care

   - Save some lawnmower gas and time--use Babydolls in your fields

   -Manure is excellent in organic gardens and for composting

Frequently Asked Questions

   from the Olde English Babydoll Registry:

"In 1780 John Ellman, realized the potential of these animals and set out to standardize the Southdown breed. In England, these small Southdowns grew in popularity up until 1908 when there were approximately 367 registered flocks totaling about 110,000 ewes.  The growth in this breed's development slowed in the early 1900s as World War I brought a sharp decline in their numbers.  By the end of the World War II, the demand for larger cuts of meat had almost forced the breed into extinction.

It is believed that the breed reached the United States in 1803.  Their popularity grew and later declined in nearly the same pattern that had occurred in England.  The small Southdown could not satisfy the consumer demand for larger meat cuts.  This was a significant factor in the development and mass production of the larger, leggier Southdown of today.  This divergence from the original breed standards was the beginning of what would later become two distinct lines: The Southdown and the miniature (or original) Southdown.  In breeding for these larger characteristics however, many of the original "miniature" attributes were bred out and nearly lost.  Each year brought a further decline in the number of these "original" Southdowns.

In 1986, Mr. Robert Mock began a search for the sheep with the original blood lines that conformed to the original Southdown of the 1700s.  Finding them proved to be difficult.  At one point they were believed to be extinct.  After a four-year search, two small flocks totaling 26 sheep were located; however, this group would not be able to provide a sustainable gene pool.  After further extensive searching, a total of 350 of these miniature sheep were located.  Many of them still carried their original Southdown registration papers."

Source:  www.oldeenglishbabydollregistry.com

1.  Olde English Southdown History

2.  What Can I do with these cute little guys?

3.   How do I care for Babydolls?

 

   -Babydolls are easy to care for.  With time, observation and learning, anyone can care for them!

                 The essentials….

        1.  fresh water daily

        2.  Choice hay or pasture daily

        3.  Choice mineral salt daily

        4.  Closed and secure living area

        5.  Shelter (this can range from primitive to a nicely built barn)

        6.  Hoof trimming

        7.  Annual shearing

 4.  Helpful Publications and Links

Sheep Publications:

 

             “Living with Sheep” by Chuck Wooster

 

             “Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep” by Paula Simmons &              Carol Ekarius

 

Sheep Related Links:

 

             Olde English Babydoll Registry                                  www.oldeenglishbabydollregistry.com

 

             North American Breeders List

             www.babydollsheep.info

 

             Sheep 201: A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Sheep

             www.sheep101.info/201/index.html

 

             Hoof Trimming “how to” with photos

             www.infovets.com/healthysmrm/C322.htm