We breed Babydoll sheep together.
What are Babydoll sheep?
The Babydoll is a short, woolly sheep breed with a lot of personality and a surprising amount of meat. The breed has been developed in Australia using compact, woolly-headed types of Southdowns which have become less common as the Southdown breed has moved towards a longer, leaner style of sheep.
Babydolls are known for their friendly, docile temperament and easy handling. They are useful in vineyards, orchards, small farms and other situations where an easy doing, compact sheep with good meat qualities gives an advantage. 
The Babydoll breed was first established in North America several decades ago by selecting smaller, compact and woolly headed types of Southdowns, including white, coloured and spotted sheep. More recently, breeders in Australia have begun developing a Babydoll breed of their own based on the original idea for the breed but using Australian Southdown genetics.
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Growing better breeders
Babydoll Sheep Breeders Australia (BSBA) helps people breed and keep Babydoll sheep (see our objectives). As a group we share ideas between breeders and tap into expert knowledge through online and face to face events and other resources.
See our vision for how we are creating a Babydoll breed for Australia. Our breeders are dedicated to producing true Babydolls — short, stocky, easy-going sheep based on Southdown genetics with robust health and structural soundness. We are working to create enough genetic diversity to create a viable breed for the long term. We run a registry using Grassroots for white, coloured, patterned, spotted and even striped Babydolls. There are two tiers of registration: Purebred Babydolls and Emerging (EM) Babydolls. Any sheep coming into our registry begin as Emerging Babydolls. These are the sheep in our registry that have not been registered as purebred. Other registries use the term 'Appendix Babydolls' for something similar. See more about Emerging Babydolls. Emerging Babydolls in the BSBA registry can only be upgraded to Purebred Babydoll registration if they pass a rigorous and independent inspection. This provides guidance and quality control for our breeders and their customers. Sheep already registered with other Babydoll registries are registered initially with BSBA as Emerging Babydoll with a % based on their pedigree. Many of these will progress quickly to purebred status after inspection. All our members have agreed to abide by a code of ethics that clearly sets out expectations and standards of behaviour. Become a member and register a stud if you want to be part of this exciting adventure. |
Babydolls: the sheep that make you smile. 
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Babydolls in vineyards and orchards
Babydoll sheep are suited to use in commercial vineyards and orchards. Our members are developing strategies for managing the sheep in these settings and can share their experience.
Keeping Babydolls
Happy, healthy sheep are fun sheep. We want to help you to keep that iconic, woolly, Babydoll sheep smile. Have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions for information about keeping Babydolls. There is more information about buying, keeping and registering Babydoll sheep in our Babydoll Information blog.
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Buying Babydoll Sheep
For many Babydoll Sheep buyers, these are the first sheep that they have ever owned. We aim to support buyers with information so they have a better idea about what to look for and what sorts of questions to ask when buying. See Finding Babydoll Breeders and Buying Babydoll Sheep - Choices.
Please check that Babydoll ewes and rams are Gaucher Free before buying to avoid introducing this potentially devastating genetic defect into your flock. Our stud profiles page can help you to find breeders near you. Our breeders post notices about Babydoll sheep for sale on the Babydoll Sheep - Increase or Decrease Your Flock group on Facebook. This is busiest from late Spring into Summer each year when most Babydoll sheep are being bought and sold. |
See Babydoll sheep in real life
Nothing beats seeing Babydoll sheep in real life. Come say hello to our members and see Babydoll sheep at these events.
2026 Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo VIC, 17-19 July 2026 Bungendore Show - Bungendore NSW, 25 October 2026 2027 Royal Canberra Show - Sheep Show - Canberra ACT, 19-21 February 2027 Yass Show - Black and Coloured Sheep - Yass NSW, 10 April 2027 Farm World, Lardner Park Warragul VIC, March 2027 Seymour Alternative Farming Expo, Seymour VIC, April 2027 Tocal Field Days, Tocal NSW, May 2027 |
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Australian Babydoll Sheep Enthusiasts Facebook - Members group: Send a message if you are a BSBA financial member and would like to join this group Facebook - Looking for Babydoll sheep: Babydoll sheep - increase or reduce your flock Instagram: babydollsheep_au Send message: Contact Us Search
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