How did you get into Babydoll Sheep?
A little over a year ago, in September 2019, I started my search for a couple sheep for my three children. We lived on the farm but we did not have any animals that we could enjoy. I grew up with beef cattle, horses, and the odd lamb, pig, or bunny seemed to make their way through our farm gate. Caring for animals is something that can teach kids so much. They learn to put other first before themselves as animals need to be fed and watered before we can indulge in our own agenda. They also teach a great work ethic as one needs to put in some good manual labour from time to time when cleaning barns or throwing bales. But bottom line, animals can be so therapeutic when you take the time to let them.
Initially, I thought finding some bottle feeding lambs for spring would be the way to go. My Dad, a seasoned animal caregiver, gave me some good advice which changed my train of thought. He suggested, “why not find a bred ewe to have the lambs for you. This way it is a lot easier to feed the ewe some hay versus bottle feeding lambs many times a day and night.” I thought this was such a smart idea. So, with that, I began my search on Kijiji.
At first, I had no idea what breed of sheep I wanted. I didn’t even really care if it was mixed or purebred. I just wanted something quiet and friendly so that we could enjoy them as pets. During a late night scroll session on Kijiji, an ad for “Babydoll Sheep” popped up. I wondered what the heck were Babydoll Sheep, but I was intrigued. The ad showed the cutest little teddy bear faces. I had to learn more about this breed! The more I learned, the more I was hooked. They were perfect for what I wanted.
Olde English Babydoll Southdown Sheep are a rare heritage breed of sheep. They are only 24 inches high or under at the shoulder and possess a quiet, calm demeanour. While they are miniature in size, they are not technically “miniature” because their size is the original size of Southdown Sheep when we go back 100’s of years ago. Today’s sheep are much larger and have been bred “up.” When an animal is called miniature, it usually implies it has been bred “down” to a much smaller size through selective breeding. And this is not the case with Babydoll Southdown Sheep. They have never been bred “down” to achieve their size. A man by the name of Robert Mock found the last few remaining flocks of Babydoll Southdown Sheep in the 1980’s. He created a program and a market to preserve the breed and ensured it could go on and thrive.
Once I realized how rare these sheep were and how hard they were to come by, I was quick to respond to the ad on Kijiji. These sheep were not too far from my Mom and Dad and I arranged for them to be picked up. I was the proud new owner of Babydoll Sheep! So now that I had a ewe, I had to find a ram so that we could have lambs in the spring. This brings me to a whole next level! Because these sheep are rare, the genetic pool is quite small. There are also only a few Babydoll breeders in Saskatchewan. I contacted a couple and found a ram lamb at Little Bitty Ranch. They were actually going to be selling their last few rams at the big province wide ram sale. I decided I would take my chances and bid on one of their rams at auction. Because this auction was a few hours away, I had to bid over the phone. If you ever want an adrenaline rush, just go to your local auction and try to bid on something! It was quite the exhilarating experience! My heart was racing as the auctioneer was talking a mile a minute. I gave the “nod” to my final bid and the hammer pounded and I had got my ram! I didn’t know whether to cry or puke! It makes me laugh thinking back. The whole experience made me think of my Grandpa. He had passed away a few months earlier. I remember going to many cattle and horse auctions with him as a kid and sitting beside him. I wished I could have told him about my first experience buying and I just imagined him laughing at me as I was so nervous! He would have gotten a kick out of me buying my little sheep over the phone at an auction.
As fate would have it, I stumbled across my second ewe when my Father-in-law was having conversation with family. It turned out that my husbands cousin also had a few little Babydoll sheep but were transitioning to a larger meat breed and were willing to sell me their little female! It was meant to be.
Before I knew it, I had my original three Olde English Babydoll Southdown Sheep arrive at our farm in September 2019. Lambie, Mary, and Ajax settled right in and were such a wonderful addition! They have brought us so much joy. In fact, they have been such a good thing that I wanted to expand our flock. As I mentioned previously, they are very hard to find. And I also wanted to find an adult ewe, so that we could have spring lambs right away. I found a breeding trio from BC that I had transported to SK in June of 2020. Teddy, Ginny, and Pauly joined the Babydoll family! My eldest son also wanted his own sheep as a little business venture for himself. I told him, if he purchased the ewe and helped out with chores, I would provide the feed, shelter, and use of my ram to help him out. We brought his ewe, Grace, home from Alberta in August 2020.
We are thrilled to be expecting 2021 spring lambs. It will be an adventure as I only had one ewe bred last year. We will have up to 5 bred this year. I am not quite sure what direction my little flock will go in. All I know is that we are having a lot of fun as we go!
