All our pure babydolls are registered with the North American Babydoll Southdown Sheep Association and Registry. 

Babydoll sheep are also called the "smiling sheep".  Their little fuzzy faces always look like they are smiling and what's not to smile about?  Good hay, a sunny day and a nice place to sleep at night is all they ask.  Of course they do need to be wormed, have their hooves trimmed and be sheared in the spring too, all of which they don't enjoy but they are so easy to handle that those chores are quick and relatively easy.  We love our babydolls so much, even our big, tough ram Bear can be caught up easily and tied to the nearest fence post even if he is in rut.  Our ewes all come to us every night for a treat or two and that is also a good way to keep them nice and tame.  Food is the greatest motivator when training animals.  We do recommend building a nice catch area when you are working with your livestock, it just makes life easier on you and them if you don't have to chase them to do health checks or worm them.  And no matter how tame your livestock are, when you bring out the wormer or those nasty shots, they will try to get away.  Thankfully Babydolls can't run very fast with those little legs but it  is never a good idea to overstress your sheep, that's why a small, strong holding area is needed.  We just toss in whatever treat we have one hand and they come running and we close the gate behind them, trapping them while we do what we have to do.

Babydolls are not miniature sheep, they are a heritage breed of sheep.  That is why their full name is Old English Southdown Babydoll. If you look up Southdowns in the United Kingdom, you'll see sheep that look exactly like what we now call Babydoll.  In years past, no one had refrigeration and so there was no point in breeding giant livestock, the Southdown sheep has had a very important place in the history of Great Britain, they provided wool fiber and meat and in a country that is always wet and cold, wool is a very important fabric.  It is the only natural fabric that retains heat even when wet.  Our own military uses most of the wool that is produced here in America.  The Southdown sheep has a fascinating history and if you have a moment please be sure to look them up.  What we currently call a Southdown here in the US is really a composite of different sheep breeds bred for a larger size that still retains the basic Southdown characteristics. 

This is Bandit, one of our two babydoll rams.   

This is Care Bear, isn't his coloring neat?  He is from Fred Kraemer's farm in Elkart Lake, Wi.  A note about Bear's temperament; Bear came to us on the wild side but has calmed down and has been a great ram to have around.  He loves the lambs and is often seen out in the pasture with a lamb or two climbing all over him.  In the winter, I've seen our chickens using him to warm their feet.  He does get rammy at times but actually comes when called and I just tie him up to nearest fence post until I'm done then I make him "walk" me to the gate by hanging onto his collar.  I can't say enough great things about the babydoll breed!  After having the experience of a shetland ram trying to kill us, it's a relief to have the babydoll rams now.  They are so much easier to handle.  

A note about rams in general.  Please be careful with rams of any breed.  Talk to other shepherds before buying one and make sure that it's the right decision for you and your family.  If you have small children, please do not ever trust a ram alone with them and never-ever turn your back to them.  Even our gentle giant, Care Bear can do some damage when he gets a mind to, he hit me so hard last year, from behind, that I wound up on the chiropractors table for three days to put my ribs and spine, back where nature intended them to be.  I was grateful that it wasn't worse than it was, all he wanted was the grain I was holding but he hit me so hard that he knocked the wind right of me and I was helpless for a minute or two flat on my back.  We have had rams that actually tried to kill us. Those boys are long gone! If you have any questions about rams, please send us an email and I will share with  your what I've learned or go to Homesteading Today and look up in the archives what other shepherds experiences have been.  Homesteading Today has been a great teacher for us first time hobby farmers and we've been able to learn more about everything from livestock to gardening.  I encourage everyone to visit the site at least once. 

GiGi has been accepted into the NABSSAR as a registered Old English Southdown.  She is 1/2 Southdown and 1/2 Old English but she has such great confirmation that the NABSSAR accepted her into the registry.  Their open registration allows for fresh genetics that will improve the breed as a whole.  It wasn't easy but it has been well worth all the effort on our part.  We love these little sheep so much and wanted to do whatever we could to breed the best sheep we were able to.  If all her lambs turn out like Summer then all that work was well worth it!

Little Summer is GiGi's ewe lamb from this summer ('10).  **Summer has been sold***

This is Cherish as a lamb, we used this photo for our Christmas cards and everyone fell in love with her! 

Cherish is our first lamb born on our farm, she is out of Charlotte and sired by Bear.  She couldn't be any cuter!    She is registered with NABSSAR and is a year old as of May/09.

Cherish gave birth to a wonderful black ewe lamb on 2/17/10.  We have named her little one Serenity but call her CC for short.  Serenity has been sold. 

This is our Charlotte, she is from WildHaven in Forreston, IL.  Thank you Sandy-Charlotte is such a wonderful ewe!

Charlotte is pictured above with her third lamb, a big healthy baby girl!  She was born on 2/16/10.  We have named her Solsict and call her Sally for short.  Every year Charlotte give us the biggest, most wolly, healthy ewe lambs and this year was of course no different.  She is such a blessing to our little flock.  Little Sally has already been sold. 

Lucy is Charlotte's second lamb.  She was born last year, 2009.  Lucy has been retained. 

This is a current picture of Lucy, taken March 2010.  She is such a wonderful ewe, we are looking forward to seeing what she produces next spring.

Cricket is a white babydoll ewe from Mill Stream Farm in Rock City Il.  Cricket has been bred to Bear.  

Proud momma Cricket with her ewe lamb.  Born March 10, 2010. This little lamb we call Cocoa has been retained. 

This is little Sunny, Cricket's ewe lamb at about 6 weeks old.  She is very inquisitive and sweet.  Sunny has been retained.

Prices:  Ewe lambs $300.00, Rams $100.00, Adult ewes $350.00 Black ewe lambs $350.00. 

Our lambs will be due in late April to early May.  For the health of our lambs they will be left with their moms for six to eight weeks.  When you get your new lamb home, you will need to handle them every day.  Leash training is advisable and we can help with advice on this.  If you are interested in one of our lambs please feel free to email us to be put on our waiting list.  Our email address is heck6100@t6b.com 

All our livestock will have their first CDT shot, ear tag, utd on worming and hoof trimming and if traveling over state lines, will need health papers.  Health paper cost will depend on whatever our vet is currently charging.  We register all our pure babydolls with the North American Babydoll Southdown Sheep Association and Registry. 

We have just sheared our flock and have a limited supply of raw fleeces available.  Please contact us if you are interested.