| Babydoll Southdown Sheep |
| The characteristics of the head give each breed its individuality & uniqueness. The BABYDOLL Southdown is polled. Small loosely attached scurs are sometimes seen on rams . Solid scurs or horns are a disqualification. The HEAD is medium length and moderately broad, but not so broad to be a birthing obstruction, and with medium length. When Judging the HEAD (10 points) Wide, level between the ears, with no sign of dark poll. Ears set level with the head neither drooping nor so upright to be perpendicular to the ground and covered with some degree of wool. |
| MUZZLE & FACE The muzzle and face should be moderate in width to insure efficient grazing and moderate in length, straight to slightly dished but not Roman. The wide muzzle gives the Babydoll sheep its classic Smiling look. When judging the FACE (2 points) Muzzle and face should be moderate in width and length, with a straight or slightly dished nose. Never a roman nose. Tan to cinnamon brown to dark gray to brown with even colors on faces and legs on the white sheep, even colors preferred but blended shades or mottled accepted. Black muzzles and legs on Black/gray or spotted fleeced sheep. Some graying on nose of Black sheep with age. |
| ACCEPTABLE COLOR VARIATIONS 1. WHITE WOOLED SHEEP, which is really an off white color Sheep with off white fleece will have muzzle and leg hair of a Light tan to Cinnamon brown to, Mousey Grays to dark brown, even colors being preferable., blends of shades are common but less desirable . 2. SOLID COLORED BLACK WOOLED SHEEP. BLACK WOOL MAY FADE TO GRAY AS SHEEP AGES Sheep with solid black to gray fleece, will have Muzzle and Leg hair of solid black that may show some graying with age . Black fleeces may fade to shades of dark gray as the sheep ages. Face and leg color should be similar to the wool color so Dark Fleece is preferred. Black fleeces generally sun burn and will have a chocolate color on tips of fleece. Black faced and legged sheep whose wool is black at birth but which fades to off white is undesirable and will be disqualified in the show ring. 3. SPOTTED TWO TONED FLEECE WITH A SOLID SHADE OF BLACK ON FACES AND LEGS. On an otherwise solid white or solid black sheep if it has only one contrasting colored spot in the wool that goes the length of the fiber and it is smaller then a grapefruit in size , this would be considered a blemish in the fleece , and would be considered a fault in the show ring. A true Spotted Sheep will have several contrasting colored areas in their fleece where the color or lack of color remains in the fleece fiber from skin outward in the adult animal. Some lambs maybe born with what appears to be spots ,but which grow out & fade usually by 6 months of age. These sheep would Not be considered Spotted. Any pigmented color and white spotting reflecting Jacob or any other breed influence that have defined color margins marking the face or leg hair is a disqualification for registration. When judging the SKIN (10 points) Of a delicate gray to bright pink on White and of dark tones on black sheep. |
| Breed Standards of the Babydoll Southdown Sheep from the NABSSAR Handbook and personal additions |
| FACE AND LEG HAIR COLOR VARIABLES The genetics of color markings in the Down breeds is poorly explained and the intensity of color in the points ( face & legs) does vary. It seems to be under pretty complicated & likely polygenetic control . Thus the results of breeding Black sheep to White sheep or even Black sheep to Black sheep sometimes gives a variety of results in the coloration of the face and legs . Resulting Examples : -lambs with extremely mottled mixture of brown and tan in the hair on faces and legs. This color mixture is acceptable but not as desirable as solid coloring -Lambs lacking any pigmented color in its face and legs, with faces and legs bright white showing no tans or brown color at all. White sheep having pure white faces and legs is a disqualification and these sheep must be sold unregistered. |
| NECK The neck is moderately long and upright, wide at the base and laid well into the shoulders. When judging the NECK (5 points) Wide at base, strong and well set on the shoulder. No excessive wrinkles in Skin |
| When judging the SHOULDERS, CHEST & BACK (15 points) Shoulder well laid in to the ribs and level to the back . Chest Deep, Back level from shoulder to tail with only a slight slope of the croup. Overall length Slightly longer then tall LOIN The LOIN should be long, wide and thick. RIBS The ribs should be deep and wide, thick through the heart girth & well sprung When judging the LOIN (5 points) Long, deep and wide When judging the RIBS (5) Deep wide ,thick through the heart girth and well sprung |
| HOOF The hoof color should be black or gray and may have some white stripes. Solid white hoofs are a disqualification. When judging the CARRIAGE (11 points) LEGS, short, straight, well placed at corners, lower leg wool & hair color similar to muzzle color. |
| All measurements are at the highest point of the middle of the shoulder and perpendicular to the ground on shorn sheep. BABYDOLL SOUTHDOWN SHEEP should be from 18-24” tall. Most Babydoll Ewes fall into 19-23” range and most Rams 22-24” range. Any Sheep 17-18” or Rams 24-26” will be faulted but could still be useful in a well thought out breeding program . Any Sheep less then 17” , Ewes over 25” and Rams over 26” is considered a disqualification and should not be registered and can not be shown as a Babydoll Southdown. (A mini horse measuring stick pictured to the left is ideal for measuring babydoll southdowns) When judging the Height (15 points) 18"-24" is ideal. Heights from 17-18” and Ewes 24-25 “ and Rams from 24-26” is considered a fault & is discriminated against, but Heights Above 25” for ewes, and above 26" for rams and any sheep below 17" are disqualifying . Total: 100 points in all sections of the babydoll southdown point system |
| Rams look more masculine and are usually larger than ewes. They should all be rectangular looking, on a moderate frame. Ewes should have a broad well attached, but not pendulous udder with 2 teats. She should be capable of producing and raising twins. With good care, many ewes will be productive for 8-10 years Rams and ewes should move with freedom of gait and remain active and sound for a similar period of 8-10 years. Properly managed Ewes and Rams should be easy keepers and maintain thrifty condition with out grain if on good pasture, with exception of during lactation, & lambs in their first year. When selecting replacement-breeding stock consider selecting for sheep with the genetics to produce animals with sound conformation that provides easy keeping, and easy birthing abilities to their offspring. Breeding for undersized sheep often produces poorly muscled and unthrifty lambs and breed integrity should be up-held above all. |
| DISCRIMINATED AGAINST (considered a fault) "Discriminated against" means the animal meets the breed standard and can be Registered but that it has a specific characteristic that is considered a fault and which is not considered ideal when comparing it to the breed standard. In a well thought out breeding program genetic variation will occur but a breeders goal is to produce lambs of better quality than their parents always striving for that ideal Babydoll Southdown Sheep. Thus if a Babydoll Southdown Sheep with a discriminated against characteristic is bred to a Babydoll Southdown Sheep whose strong points complements the others weakness, the match has the potential of producing offspring without that fault. • Sheep, less then 18” tall but taller then 17’ , or Rams Greater then 24 but not larger then 26” • Excessively Wide Flat-Topped Shoulders .Excessive wrinkling of skin • Extremely Broad Heads • Loosely Attached or nubby Scurs • Bright Pink Nostrils (with no sign of pigmentation) • Slick haired Ears One contrasting colored spot smaller then the sized of a grapefruit in fleece Black face and legged sheep with very light gray fleece |
| Below is information that describes the Babydoll Southdown Sheep in detail with pictures included as examples. This web page was made to help people with questions about the babydoll southdown breed and what the breed standards are. The breed standards are from the NABSSAR handbook, and I have added additional information and pictures to this information try and help describe some things in more detail than the handbook. This website is still under construction so pictures and more information will be added in time helping to describe certain things. In each section a Scale of Points have also been included to be used in helping to judge the overall conformation of the BABYDOLL and should be used by the serious breeder when looking over sheep for purchase. This point system is also used when babydoll southdown sheep are judged during showing so this will help people that are interested in getting into the show scene and how their sheep will be judged. When using the point system the top number of points in each section is for ideal, deduct points for faults depending on the degree of that fault. Some sheep are stronger in some points that others. This should also be considered when choosing sheep for your flock. When purchasing a ram choose a ram that will compliment your ewes and improve on weak points they may have. A ram is an important purchase, he is half of all lambs produced. This will insure a more ideal and conformationally correct lamb crop. Different degrees of conformation, etc has been shown in pictures to explain from "ideal" to "average and acceptable" to "unacceptable" traits. Many of the photos below are of sheared sheep. This makes it much easier to see conformation. Keep in mind when viewing photos there are very few 'perfect' babydoll sheep and these photos show a wide range of babydoll sheep, not just the 'ideal show quality' sheep. All Sheep pictured below are within breed standards unless noted as such. |
| This ram shows a low ear set, they are not level with poll |
| Correct Ears. You can see a straight line across head and across ears |
| DISQUALIFICATIONS (Does not meet Registration requirements) ‘Disqualifying’ means a specific characteristic of conformation or breed type does not meet the breed standard for the Babydoll Southdown breed. Sheep with disqualifying characteristics should not be used in a pure bred breeding program nor can they be registered as Babydoll Southdowns with NABSSAR. . Sheep smaller then 17” or ewes larger then 25” , Rams larger then 26” • Solid 1” or larger scurs or horns • One or both Testicles not descended • Incisor teeth not meeting dental pad • Inverted eyelids • Scrotal rupture . White wooled sheep with black face and leg hair • Solid White hooves • Pure White muzzle & leg hair • Pronounced Roman nose • Evidence of cross breeding • Piebald colored face and legs , distinctly two colored, one pigmented one white colored areas with distinct margins. |
| This ram could use more wool on the ears. |
| Good head for a young ram. |
| This ewe shows a higher ear set. |
| The classic "Babydoll" Smile this breed is known for. |
| Markings on ram are demonstrating measurements of: Shoulder to last rib, length of loin , and length of hind saddle. Length of measurement from loin and hind saddle being slightly longer than shoulder to last rib. |
| SHOULDERS Shoulders should be well muscled, well laid in to the ribs and level with the back. The width at the shoulders should be less than the width at the hips to facilitate easy lambing. Excessively Flat & wide topped shoulders should be discriminated against. |
| This ewe is not slightly longer than tall, she has more of a square shape and short coupled body. |
| This ewe is showing ideal shape, longer than tall in body, good pasterns. Tail head is level with bottom of jaw. Good front leg placement and good rear angulation. |
| Comparision of rears, showing different degrees of deep, well muscling. |
| HINDQUARTERS, FEET and LEGS |
FORE QUARTERS : SHOULDERS, BACK AND LOIN
| HEAD |
| Profile showing a straight nose. |
| SIZE / HEIGHT, including UNDER AND OVERSIZED SHEEP |
| Discriminations and Disqualifications |
| Short and Straight legs should stand squarely at each corner with plenty of space between the front legs. |
| HINDQUARTERS The hindquarters should be wider than the forequarters and have good width between the hip bones. Rear legs should stand wide but squarely under the sheep with some angulations of the stifle & hocks and slight angulations of the pasterns |
| TAIL The tail head should be in a line level to the chin when the sheep is standing in a natural alert stance. When judging the Rump/CROUP & Tail (5 points) Rump wide and of medium length , with a slight slope of the croup. Tail is large, and set on a line almost level with the chin, when standing in a natural alert stance. |
| THIGHS and TWIST , ( area from tail to crotch) Full, well let down, with a deep, wide twist and heavy muscling. Thighs and twist should show deep and heavy muscling. When judging the HIND SADDLE (THIGHS AND TWIST) (5) |
| I want to give a special Thanks to Diane Spisak (Sheepfields Babydolls) for helping me with this webpage! |
| Comparing front legs of two sheep, the leg to the left has straight legs and correct pastern angle. The sheep to the right has straight legs, but has pasterns that are to long and low. |
| Nice Correct front legs at a side view. |
| This lamb shows dark coloring on face and legs. |
| Lamb to the left shows mixture of color on legs. Color mixture is acceptable but not desirable as solid coloring. |
| When breeding two black sheep together you can possibly get a recessive pure white lamb which is not registrable in our Association. The twin on the right is from black parents & shows some white hair in its legs and face along with some darker colored hair and though less desirable then a solid dark color it could be used cautiously in a breeding program. If it had no dark hair at all it would not be registrable. |
| These lambs show very light coloring on face and legs |
| BACK The BACK is somewhat longer than the animal is tall, with more than one half the overall length in the hind saddle as measured from the dock to the 13th rib. The Back should be level from shoulder to tail head with very little slope of the croup |
| Comparison: Shows differences in width of thigh and deapth of twist. Left -Best, Middle-Moderate, Right-Light |
| WOOL & ACCEPTABLE FLEECE COLORS The Wool covering around the eyes and cheeks to the muzzle should be short and not so thick to ever cause the sheep to be wool blind. Tear ducts should not be over woolly. |
| Example of common colors: Black, White and Gray. Note gray sheep has black legs and muzzle. |
| Example of a ewe with a dark spot above her right ewe, this is considered a wool blemish, this sheep is not considered spotted. |
| White Wooled sheep after a fresh clipping and bath. |
| EARS Ears are of medium thickness, moderate in length, level to the poll, proportionate to the head and preferably covered with wool. Short rough hair is acceptable, slick haired ears are discriminated against. Gray, Black or brown-specked ear skin is common. Nose and lip leather should be black, dark to light gray or blue and speckles are common. Solid bright pink with out any pigmentation is discriminated against .Ears should set level with the head neither drooping nor so upright to be perpendicular to the ground and covered with some degree of wool. |
| EYES Eyes should large bright, brown to yellow. When judging the EYES (2 points)Large, bright and prominent. Yellow to brown in color. |
| INCISOR TEETH Incisor teeth should meet the dental pad. |
| This ewe and ram lamb pictured above are showing very "true to type" all over conformation. Nice length, level back. Straight and correct legs, Nice head set, etc.... |
| Hooves of the babydoll sheep can vary a lot in color. The ideal hoof color is black or gray with no white on the hoof, as pictured in the first two pictures on a black sheep and a white sheep. The following three pictures show different degrees of striping from heavily striped to light striping. Many sheep have white hooves with striping and this is totally acceptable as long as they are not solid white with no coloring at all. |
| COLOR of the HAIR on the FACE and MUZZLE of a WHITE WOOLED SHEEP Color of the hair on the muzzle on the off white fleeced sheep should be a shade from light tan to cinnamon brown to dark gray brown with even colors preferred. Blends of similar shades are acceptable in the hair of the muzzle and legs as long they are NOT some pigmented color with large white spots that have well defined margins or solid white and lacking any pigmented color at all. The short colored hair on the face should ideally cover the entire muzzle and extend from the corners of the mouth to a rounded point between the eyes on the adult sheep and the wool on the cheeks forehead and around the eyes not be so long as to obstruct vision. The colored hair mixed with short wool of the legs should extend to about the knees where the body wool meets the hair. |
| COLOR of the HAIR ON the FACE and MUZZLE of a BLACK Wooled SHEEP HAIR of the Face and Muzzle on a Black wooled sheep should be solid black. Scattered gray hairs may develop on muzzles as the sheep ages. |
| The pictures above show varied degrees of coloring and pigmentation on the nose from dark to light. The solid color dark muzzle is prefered as 'ideal'. But All other muzzles pictured are totally acceptable and within breed standards. You do not want a sheep to have a 'bright' pink nose with no pigmentation on it what so ever. |
| For people new to the sheep world here are two pictures showing a hoof before trimming and after. Many people have asked how to trim hooves, and were to cut without getting to close to the quick in the hoof and hopefully these pictures will help them in trimming their sheep's hooves. As a tip hooves are trimmed to be level with the soft pad in the center of the foot. Cutting below this soft pad can cause bleeding and discomfort when hoof is trimmed to short. |
| Example of "Laid in" shoulders: Shoulders should blend smoothly into the body and not be higher then the level of the back. the width at the shoulders should be less then the width at the hips to facilitate easy birthing. |
| If you are revisiting this page remember to hit your 'Refresh' button so any new additions can be viewed. |
| The 'ideal' ear set is the first picture to the far left above. Ears can vary in shape/size and pictures above show examples of the different ears that could be seen, with comments on them. All ears pictured above are within breed standards. This is to help a person to know the ideal ear set to look for as 'best'. |
| Good example of a sheep standing square. |
| For those of you that have asked "How can I tell how old a sheep is by looking at their teeth?" Below is a chart that may help you to learn by comparing this chart to your sheep's teeth, guess the age, then check yourself with their registration papers to see correct ages and see how close you got to guessing ages. This is a good way to learn. Both sheep pictured above are yearlings. Note the two larger teeth in front and lamb teeth on the sides. |
| Example of ewes with Narrow leg placement.There are sheep out there with much more narrow placement, but these ewes could use improvement on this. |
| Ewe #1 has a nice tail set and croup. Note the nice level line from tail to bottom of jaw with the back line being the same and her tail head being level with chin. Her slight slope of croup is correct. Ewe #2 has a much lower tail set than desired and the line is below the normal chin line even if she was in a more relaxed state. Note how much farther down the line is on ewe #2's tail head straight across compared to the top of ewe #1's back, and comparing to the line on #1, ewe #2 is showing a much lower tail set. Also notice ewe #2's croup which is sloping more than desired. Comparing croups and tail set ewe #1 is a much better ewe showing the best of the breed standard on tail and croup than ewe #2. |
| Correct tail set and croup |
| Low tail set and sloping croup |
| This nice ewe to the left shows a deep chest and deep body. She is a very maternal looking ewe with a body type capable of carrying multiple lambs and with room in her body cavity to consume sufficient groceries to maintain a multiple birth pregnancy. |
| I was fortunate to receive this picture to the left as an example of a solid white babydoll lamb for people wondering exactly what one looks like. This picture is a Babydoll Lamb with out any pigmentation and at this time, this lamb does not fit the breed standard and is not registrable. |
| I will gladly welcome pictures that could be used on this website to help people learn. And I want to take the time to thank all that have submitted photos so far. It is so hard to get photos of not so good conformation from others and I commend all of the people so far that have sent in photos to use on this website, and to help people to 'see' exactly what something is. I need pictures of good, average, and not so good, to show the differences in conformation, etc. No names will ever be posted, or given out to anyone on the pictures submitted, the photo will just be used as a learning tool for all. Pictures are worth a thousand words to help people to learn. But that is very hard to do without help from others. It is much easier to learn when one 'sees' something other than if they just read about it.... that is the main reason I have so many photos on this website. And I could use many more photos to show varied conformation. So please, if you have a good, average or not so good conformation or color photo for a section that doesn't have a photo yet, that could be used to help in describing something and will help people learn, please send it my way..... Thanks, lazyjvranch@gmail.com |
| #1 |
| #2 |
| When first learning to judge conformation it is much easier when a sheep is sheared to see true angles. Wool growth can be deceiving and make actual straight correct legs look crooked when they are not, as you can see by the ewe above, pictured sheared and in full wool. The thick wool on the upper legs tend to make legs look as if they bow in when actually they are nice correct legs when seen sheared. |
| Example of same ewe Sheared and in Full Wool |
| FAULTS EXPLAINED: There are two types of "Faults" when judging the Babydoll Southdown. Conformation faults and Breed Type faults. A good way to describe this is that Structural or Conformation type faults are generally more serious as they affect function or reproduction. Breed type faults are more about looks, color, loose scurs, or spots. Faults can be described as very mild and hardly noticable faults to severe or disqualifing faults, one reason for the point system and how it is used when judging a sheep for over all conformation and breed type. There are very few "perfect" babydoll southdowns, most have their strong points and their weak points. Careful selection of breeding stock will improve the breed as a whole. Now you be the judge..... |
| This ewe shows a very slightly dished nose. |
| The front of the face should be straight or slightly dished, no roman noses. |
| This ewe does not have stripes, this is just the lanolin on her seen right after shearing. These stripes easily wash off. |
| White hairs on the nose is common in some dark colored sheep, this is not considered a spot as long as skin is still dark and not pink colored under the white hairs. |
| This picture is a good example of color variations and differences on babydoll southdown legs. It shows leg colors from very light tan to cinnamon to black. |
| This picture shows a babydoll southdown with the mousey grey colored markings around the nose area. |
| This lamb is a good example of a babydoll with cinnamon markings on face and legs. |
| Wool of 1/2 to 3/8 blood (The term "Blood" Denotes fineness:"more blood" means finer wool) or 56 to 60 (spinning count) is preferred. Medium to Medium/Fine Crimp (The natural waviness in fibers). Average Staple (length of fiber) 2.5-3 inches long. 24 to 31 Microns (average diameter of the wool fiber) |
| When judging the WOOL (10 points) Of fine texture, tight with great density, and of sufficient length of staple, covering the whole of the body Wool being down to the hocks and knees, and right up to the cheeks, with a full foretop, but not covering the eyes, or across the bridge of the nose. Wool of ½ to 3/8 blood or 56 to 60’s is preferred |
| Picture #1 Fine fleece has a very tiny crimp in fiber. |
| Picture #4 This opened labled fleece has pretty fine crimp but on this sample of shoulder fleece the fibers group up and fall open . |
| Picture #3 Medium fine a bit longer in staple and slightly farther apart & larger crimp |
| Picture #2 Medium fine a bit longer in staple and slightly farther apart & larger crimp |
| Fleece or Wool quality has been evaluated in several ways over the centuries. Terms to understand : * Staple length: The length of a 12 months growth of wool fiber not stretched. * Crimp: Waves in the individual fiber, small waves close together are softer fleece. Waves further apart are coarser. * The term 'Blood': Used to interpret fineness displayed in fractions. * Spin count: Measurement on a wool Skein. * Microns: Measurement. Most Old type Southdowns (white Babydoll Southdowns) are evaluated as 1/2 to 3/8 blood. 1/2 blood translates to a 60 to 62 skein spin count and a fiber of 22.5 to 25 microns in diameter, with medium fine crimp and 2.5 to 3" staple length. 3/8 blood translates to a 58 spin count and a 24.5to 26.5 micron with medium crimp and 2.5 to 3.5" staple length.Many of our Black Babydolls are 1/4 blood which is coarser then white fleeces. 27-31 micron, medium coarse crimp and 2.5 to 4" staple length. |
| Examples of Open Faces |
| Faces: Below are different examples of the types of faces seen on the Babydoll Southdown Sheep. |
| Overly Wooly Faces: Above are sheep that are showing different degrees of what is called "Wool Blind" were the wool keeps growing around the eyes, until it totally covers the eyes and the sheep can no longer see. This is a fault that should be worked on and a breeder should use breeding practices that discourages this problem. Sheep that have a tendency to become wool blind do need to be trimmed regular around the eye area so the sheep can see well and not become 'blind'. |
| The Southdown is traditionally a premium meat breed and became popular because of its excellent muscling and flavorful meat. Sheep are always judged by the quality of their muscling on a well structured frame as well as the quality of their wool for spinning. The loin, which is where the chops come from, should be long wide and deep. The rear legs which are the roasts or steaks should be well muscled and large. |
The twist is the depth of muscling top to
bottom of the rear leg (Vertical Line #1) Also
evaluated is the size and roundness of the
rear leg line (Horizontal Line #2). Green Lines
in pictures show were hands are placed by the
judge to determine Twist length. Hands are
placed at the top of the tail and at the crotch
(Green areas). You can see by the pictures the
different sized Twists for each sheep.
bottom of the rear leg (Vertical Line #1) Also
evaluated is the size and roundness of the
rear leg line (Horizontal Line #2). Green Lines
in pictures show were hands are placed by the
judge to determine Twist length. Hands are
placed at the top of the tail and at the crotch
(Green areas). You can see by the pictures the
different sized Twists for each sheep.
| Example of wide shoulders |
| Click Here to visit the North American Babydoll Southdown Sheep Association Website |
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