Cosmos and her lamb. The mom is the dark one. The lamb was born in May and is nearly the size of her mother.
this is the 75% Babydoll with his Brocklefaced mother, the Jacob cross Babydoll, behind him. There is not recognizable difference in this lamb and any other Babydoll lamb. The only thing that gives his mother away is her colouring.
Old English Southdown Babydoll sheep are naturally miniature sheep. At one time they were the common sheep in England, but as people desired larger cuts of meat, they fell out of favour and were almost extinct. Robert Mock found some isolated flocks and created a registry for him, one that his daughter continues today. Unfortuantely, the gene pool for these amazing little fellows is rather limited.
I crossed some fo the Babydolls with Jacobs last year. The crosses look identical to Babydolls with the exception of a little more open fleece and a brockle face, that is a face wtih mottled black and white. They are the same size and shape as the Babydoll sheep. For an untrained eye, one could not tell the difference. One was bred to a Babydoll ram this year and her offspring, 75% Babydoll, is absolutely like any other Babydoll sheep. The genes are strong and dominant obviously.
Every morning I let the sheep out to graze in the pasture. They are kept close to the house in the night pen because of the high predation in this area. There are livestock guardian dogs with the sheep and more around the farm with the other critters. So far, there have been no losses except one baby goat to the fox. Every morning the Babydolls stop and wait for me to scratch an ear or under a chin and they look into my eyes. That moment where eyes meet eyes is one of absolute trust and is priceless and precious. When they come in for the evening and I am about to shut the gate, they stay where they are resting, relaxed in my presence. This is so for some of the other sheep, but the Babydoll sheep are born friendly. They are hardy and parasite resistant and though I have not eaten any, they are a meat sheep too. But I love them because they love me.
And, they are so darn cute! Right?
I crossed some fo the Babydolls with Jacobs last year. The crosses look identical to Babydolls with the exception of a little more open fleece and a brockle face, that is a face wtih mottled black and white. They are the same size and shape as the Babydoll sheep. For an untrained eye, one could not tell the difference. One was bred to a Babydoll ram this year and her offspring, 75% Babydoll, is absolutely like any other Babydoll sheep. The genes are strong and dominant obviously.
Every morning I let the sheep out to graze in the pasture. They are kept close to the house in the night pen because of the high predation in this area. There are livestock guardian dogs with the sheep and more around the farm with the other critters. So far, there have been no losses except one baby goat to the fox. Every morning the Babydolls stop and wait for me to scratch an ear or under a chin and they look into my eyes. That moment where eyes meet eyes is one of absolute trust and is priceless and precious. When they come in for the evening and I am about to shut the gate, they stay where they are resting, relaxed in my presence. This is so for some of the other sheep, but the Babydoll sheep are born friendly. They are hardy and parasite resistant and though I have not eaten any, they are a meat sheep too. But I love them because they love me.
And, they are so darn cute! Right?
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