Olde English Babydoll Southdown Sheep

Formerly NORTHWEST CASHMERE

Follow the Lamb

We are a small family owned farm with a herd of about 14 ewes and 4 rams off different bloodlines. We started raising "Olde English Babydoll Sheep" in 1995 and have enjoyed their sweet, serene dispositions and adorable Teddy Bear faces. We have had few lambing problems and the ewes, if not bred their first year, make very good mothers. Our lambs are sold registered, tails docked, wormed, and two sets of vaccines. We have both white and black sheep, although in actuallity, the whites are more of a cream, and the blacks are black only when they are lambs, as they eventually bleach out to either a chocolate brown, or charcoal grey. We generally start lambing in March through April, and the lambs are ready to go by May or June. Our lambs are registered with the Olde English "Babydoll" Registry who was founded by Robert Mock of Rochester, Washington.

We would love to show you our lambs! Feel free to e-mail or phone us at 503-625-8816.

A Little History

Originating on the South Down hills of Sussex County England, the Southdown is the oldest of the Down breeds. These small sheep were extremely hardy and produced good flavored meat. In 1780 John Ellman, realized the potential of these animals and set out to standardize the Southdown breed.

By 1803, The Southdown reached America but could not compete with the bigger animals and were crossbred to produce the large leggy Southdown of today.

The last remaining flocks of this original style Southdown sheep were found, in 1990 after a five year search. A registry separate from the modern Southdown Registry was necessary to preserve the unique conformation and size of the miniature Baby Doll Southdown. 350 of these sheep were located and accepted into the Foundation Registry. The sheep that were registered were located in small flocks that had been kept pure by dedicated, experienced breeders.

Their wool is short stapled and fine. It grades at about 55-60, and spinners enjoy working with the wool. Fleece test at 19-20 microns, which puts it in the class of cashmere. It has more barbs per inch than any other wool types and makes it ideal to blend with either angora rabbit or angora goat for spinning.

BabyDolls have attractive teddy bear faces and make very gentle pets, ideal companions for children, the handicapped, and older folks who do not want to deal with large stock but don't want to be without sheep. The miniature animal enthusiast regards them as collectors items. They are lovely little lawn ornaments and can fit most anywhere. A large city lot can easily accommodate a pair.