I kept seeing pictures of these cute, fat, fluffy, stocky, short sheep all over Pinterest. One day, I started to research these cute mystery sheep. It turns out that I was falling in love with Babydoll Southdown Sheep. Their permanent smiling faces snatched my heart, so I started researching how to care for these sweet little sheep and if it was possible to own livestock on a half-acre.
Look at how happy she is 🙂
Finding Our Babydoll Southdown Sheep
To my surprise, they could be easy keepers on a backyard farm. I didn’t jump in immediately; I had thought about it for about a year. One day, while scrolling Craigslist, I stumbled upon a Babydoll Southdown Lamb. She was three days old and as cute as ever. I reached out to the owner to get more information. We talked for 40 minutes about how to best care for babydoll sheep. We discussed their flocking instinct and how sheep should have at least one friend. But because this baby was a surprise -they didn’t think the mom ended up getting pregnant- our little lamb was alone. On top of her singleness, her mom had an ear infection and didn’t want to nurse. The owners quickly milked out the colostrum from the mom to give to her baby. After feeding her colostrum, they started her on lamb formula.
The owners were optimistic that the lamb would be fine by herself because of all the other animals she would be around. These animals include Gerty Goose, ducks, and our two dogs. The owners had had to sell single lambs before and had sold lambs to a couple of families in our situation. The sheep are doing well and have a lot of interaction.
At this point, we would love to get another one so that Susan has a friend. But we would have to have the perfect setup, which would involve selling another single lamb. For right now, we are happy with Susan, and she is very happy roaming our lawn, chasing the dogs, and grazing.
How to Care For Babydoll Southdown Sheep on a Backyard Farm
Our half-acre lot is flat and mostly grass. In the season when the grass is growing and showing, we have enough to keep Susan happy and healthy. We have snow on the ground for 4-5 months at a time, so we plan to feed her supplemental hay during this period. That is why we built her shelter with a hay storage section.
Your backyard sheep need grass or hay all the time. They also need access to water at all times. We only feed grain as a treat because we keep our sheep as pets. Instead of having Susan be tied to the bottle as she got weaned, we taught her that shaking a bucket with grain was an exciting snack time. We put a handful of grain in a small bucket, shake it, and then Susan comes running. She gets so excited!
Sheep also need minerals to help them get all the nutrients they need. You can get a sheep mineral block or loose mineral. We chose a loose mineral. When choosing a grain or mineral, one must be careful not to choose one with copper. Copper is toxic to sheep but is found in goat minerals and grains. So, look for the lack of copper when purchasing the mineral and grains if you get grains for a treat. You don’t want to make your sheep sick.
Shelter Needs for Sheep
Although sheep are easy to keep, they need shelter from extreme weather. A three-sided shelter will do the trick. The open side of this shelter needs to face away from the wind. Babydoll sheep also need a fence to keep them protected. We sometimes can’t find Susan on our fenced half-acre because she gets behind a bush and stays there for a while. With that being said, if there isn’t a fence, sheep will wander off and get lost.
Because Babydoll Southdown Sheep doesn’t get big, a small shelter will do. The owners we bought Susan from said their sheep don’t even use the shelter they have, even in the worst weather. It’s still important to provide shelter for protection, though. At least give them an option!
Other Sheep Chores
Every spring, sheep need to be shorn. This removes their entire winter coat and puts it into your hands. I don’t know if I will use it or sell it. We will see when we get there!
Their hooves also need to be trimmed every spring. I have read that hoof trimming can be done every quarter, but the breeder we bought from said they do it all in one go in the spring, and they’ve never had issues.
The sheep’s wool can overgrow around their face. If this happens, it’s important to shave or trim around their eyes so that they can see. We’ve already had to do this with Susan. She looks all bright-eyed again!
Babydoll Southdown Sheep Stats
Babydoll Sheep grow to about knee-high, which is about 18-24 inches tall at their shoulders or withers. Their small stature is perfect for backyard farmers and hobby farmers alike, especially if space is limited.
These sheep are not aggressive, making their personalities shine even brighter. They want to roam, chew their cud, enjoy pets, pats, rubs, and EAT. By golly, these sheep eat. When we first had Susan, her owners gave us a bottle schedule for her, and they told us not to worry when she was done with feeding and acting hungry. They said this breed, in particular, loves to eat and will continue to eat even if full. When she was a lamb, she did exactly this. But we could tell she was well fed because her belly would get so round and full.
These sheep will live 12-16 years, which is a commitment! But we have had Susan for almost three months, and she’s my favorite pet on our backyard farm.
They are very hardy and not prone to disease. However, keeping up with deworming is essential, so we deworm our sheep once a year.
You want to buy from a reputable breeder when searching for your sheep. A reputable breeder will be registered with NABSSAR and/or Olde English “Babydoll” Registry. The sheep you get doesn’t have to be registered unless you want it to be. The main reason you would be a registered sheep is for breeding purposes.
Why You Need Babydoll Sheep
Excellent fertilizer!
They will poop everywhere, but their poop is nitrogen-rich, so it won’t hurt your grass. It also won’t leave behind yellow markings like dog feces does. Their poop is pellets that drop into the grass. They don’t stay on top of the grass like dog poop or even goose or duck poop. They poop, and the poop disappears!
Pruning/Mowing
Babydoll Sheep are used in vineyards and orchards because of their short stature; they prune only what they can reach, leaving the tender fruit, and mowing all the weeds to keep them at bay. Susan eats a lot of grass but is drawn to the weeds on our lawn. Because the flower beds around our home are not fenced, she has pruned many of our rose bushes (she loves roses), so we will build a fence around our beds next year. Remember, if you don’t want your sheep over-pruning your precious plants, keeping them in a designated enclosure might be best.
Wool
Their wool is also prized because it is very similar to cashmere. I have read many places where they mix Babydoll wool with other fibers because it is highly barbed. Their fleece is in the 19-24 micron range, which means it can be worn next to the skin without irritation.
Perfect Pet
Babydoll Sheep have amazing personalities, making them perfect pets. I bottle-fed Susan when she was five days old (when we picked her up). Because of bottle feeding her, she became attached to me, like she would if she had been naturally nursed by her mom. She is attached to me, and my family calls her my shadow. She follows me around a lot of the time when I am in the yard. When I go outside and am talking, she will hear my voice and call out to me. It is so cute.
Noise
Babydolls are not loud. Now, if they want something, if something is wrong, or are excited, they will “meh.” But this loud type of “meh” is rare. When Susan is content, chewing her cud, or distracted by the latest leaf she found, she will make a quiet, content “meh,” which is more of what we hear typically. Rarely do I hear her making noise to make noise. Usually, she’s making noise to interact with me or my family. Even at night, I never hear a peep from her. We sleep through the night without being woken up by her. She was even like this when she was being bottle-fed. She slept through the night! We will wake up to honking if the goose hears something at night. Susan is quiet compared to Gerty.
Susan is my Favorite Pet on our Farm (shh… don’t tell Gerty)
Jordan wanted goats for a couple of days before I axed that idea. I explained to him that goats, however small they may be, get into and out of everything, eat whatever they want, and are not easy keepers.
When I researched these “mini” (they aren’t actually mini) sheep, I found they really are easy keepers. Susan has become my favorite animal on the farm because she is so go with the flow.
We can take her on walks with our dogs. She’s content mowing our lawn during the day and hanging out. Even when we are outside, she will do her own thing. Sometimes, though, she hangs out with us. I love that she is so chill and wants to be with me. I genuinely love her so much.
We recently graduated her from her fenced-off area under our covered porch/in the grass to her enclosure, which she will be in at night and whenever we aren’t at home. She didn’t make a fuss. She was quiet all night, and when I let her out to graze our lawn, she was very happy and content.
I know that you will not regret getting a Babydoll Sheep for your Backyard, Hobby, or Mini Farm. Susan lights up our days, and I’m sure your future sheep will, too.
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