Babydoll information.
Please note that information provided on our website can only be reproduced elsewhere with acknowledgement of Babydoll Sheep Breeders Australia as the source.
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Ovine Brucellosis is a sexually transmitted disease of sheep spread quickly between rams. There is no treatment for infected rams. The effects can be devastating for a flock, with sudden loss of fertility and the infected rams needing to be culled.
Best practice when buying any breed of ram is to only buy rams from Brucellosis Accredited flocks. An accredited breeder is able to provided a copy of their Brucellosis Accreditation certificate. Alternatively, new rams can be tested (twice) by a vet for Brucellosis before they are allowed into your flock. Sheep carrying the fatal gene for Gaucher have been found in many Babydoll flocks in Australia. BSBA encourages all Babydoll breeders to DNA test for the Gaucher gene and eradicate Gaucher from their flock (Gaucher Free). We also encourage all buyers to ask about the Gaucher status of sheep before buying. Life for a lamb born with two copies of the Gaucher gene is pretty grim and short. They are unable to stand to feed and die in a few days. In Australia we are lucky to have a big sheep meat and wool industry. One of the benefits is the high quality, evidenced-based information provided by state agriculture departments and sheep industry bodies.
Here are some webinar recordings from SheepConnect NSW and other information that you might like to dip into when learning about all things sheep. |
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