Camare Babydoll Southdown stud

22/05/2024

💯🥰

15/05/2024

How wonderful ❤️

11/05/2024

Absolutely love the colouring on these two 🥰
Both were born black but faded to this. Rapid colour fade and I love it ❤️
Little Oreo’s 😁

11/05/2024

All the shenanigans on the farm 😂
Tyre blow out on the tractor as Rod went through the gate heading out to slash the paddock. Tyre literally went bang 😳😂 nice hole in the tyre wall
And of course it’s on an embankment and of course it’s the trye on embankment side so the lean on the tractor is….. holy s**t 😮😳 please don’t roll. 🤦‍♀️ let the air out the other tyre so tractors somewhat stable on her lean 👍
Winch on my patrol works well thankfully 👍

10/05/2024

Had to share 🥰🥰
Desexed boys make the best pets and Sal absolutely loves her boys ❤️

08/05/2024

Melman lost his manhood today.
Sorry Melman. He was so well behaved. Not one spit was flung 😂 Megan at Pittsworth vets did an amazing job with him and she’s amazed at how calm he is for a pacca.
Such a good boy ❤️

07/05/2024

Breed standard.

It’s what sets you apart from others.

As hard as it is, we must be critical of our own flock when breeding.
Look at your breed standard and then look at your sheep from a buyers perspective.
With so much information being published about the expectations of what this breed should look like, buyers and breeders are now looking for quality babydolls.
Don’t miss out on building a reputable breed for yourself just because you think they look cute or close enough to breed standard. It’s one of the biggest mistakes we can make as a breeder.
If you feel your not confident enough to approach such a task then ask a friend or fellow sheep breeder if they could give you some feedback 😊
It’s helped me so much with keeping my eyes on my sheep’s conformation over the years. 👍

05/05/2024

😂😂

01/05/2024

So if you’ve ever wondered why AABMGS call this breed, Babydoll Southdown. Here it is 😊

History of Babydoll Southdown.

“One can understand nothing of a breed unless its history is known.”

The Southdown is one of the oldest and purest of British breeds and was the first downs breed to be improved. A gentleman called John Ellman of Lewes, Sussex, began to improve the primitive short-wool sheep of his native south downs. Less is known of Ellman's methods, but it is certain that private ownership and enclosure made Ellman’s miracle of breeding succeed. A miracle it may well be called, because at the end of the eighteenth century, Ellman succeeded in producing the most perfectly proportioned sheep of its time, the Southdown.
The Southdown has remained the classic example of what a sheep should be, the Southdown is in all of the down's breeds. These incudes, Hampshire, Dorset, Shropshire and Suffolk. The perfection of their conformation derives from the Southdown breed.
The Southdown breed was imported into Australia in 1793 by Samual Marsden. Used widely across Australia to produce prime lambs. The breed was highly sought after because of their well-muscled frame and docile, no fuss disposition. Rams produced highly sought after first cross lambs and rams won many championships at shows against some serious competition.
England owing to the early industrialisation and rapid increase of population, led the way in the change-over from sheep specially designed to produce wool, to those bred more particularly to produce meat. The coming of refrigeration in 1880 with the possibilities of prolonged preservation of meat, led to the change in sheep breeding. Refrigeration enlarged the possibilities of pastoral production in southern continents. Australia was no longer entirely dependent on wool exports.
In 1974 Australia lifted the ban on importing sheep from New Zealand and in doing so, a number of Southdown's came into the country. The imported Southdown's from New Zealand had a huge impact on Australia’s breeding that resulted in a significant increase to muscle, weight and height, and from this the modern Southdown we see today was established. And what an establishment it made. The breed kept getting bigger and better for commercial breeders each year. The modern Southdown's we see today average an impressive weight of between 120kg-160kg and a height of 70cm plus. A breed suited for the Australian commercial meat market.
With the changes of the Southdown, the smaller Southdown type fell out of favour with breeders and almost disappeared. Thankfully a few breeders in Australia wanted to preserve the breed and stick to the old type, thus the breed needed a new name and a new breed standard, so Australia looked towards America. American breeders called them Babydolls. Some Australian breeders adopted the babydoll terminology, but AABMGS also wanted to honour the historical aspects of the breed and did so by calling them Babydoll Southdown's.
This little miniature sheep started to make its mark in Australia by finding favour with vineyard and orchard growers, who used the breed as an organic alternative to pesticide and other harsh chemicals, plus they are perfect little fertilizers. Grazing mostly on grass, they make wonderful no fuss eco-friendly lawn mowers. They also found favour with hobby farmers and first-time sheep owners due to their docile nature, miniature size, ease on fencing and infrastructure and their adorable teddy bear like appearance and characteristics.
In 2016 the Australian all breeds of miniature goat and sheep society (AABMGS) recognised this breed as a miniature breed and the need to also preserve bloodlines and keep the breed to a strict breeding program. After lots of research on the breeds history and consulting with many breeders and registries in America and the UK, AABMGS put together a world class breed standard that included colours and patterns. Since then, the breeds popularity has boomed.
In 2020 the Australian sheep stud breeder's association (ASSBA) registered the breed as its own separate breed from the modern type of Southdown and the new breed was called Babydoll. In 2021 the first babydoll lambs were registered in the flock book and from this a breed society was born called Babydoll sheep association of Australia (BSAA)
A third breed society in Australia started up in 2020 being called babydoll sheep breeders Australia (BSBA) who base their breeding program on Southdown's. BSBA do not recognise this breed as being miniature and have more of a small modern Southdown influence in their breed standard.
AABMGS are proud to be involved in the preservation of this cute and compact miniature smiling sheep breed. A sheep that literally smiles at you.
AABMGS call this breed Babydoll Southdown in honour of its historical significance and the remarkable legacy from which this breed came from and the respect for past breeders and preservers of such a wonderful little sheep.

“One can understand nothing of a breed unless its history is known”

30/04/2024

Wonderful article explaining colour 😊

https://www.colouredsheep.org.nz/2022/02/12/why-a-brown-spotted-lamb-is-like-the-holy-grail/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1DJPf_r81-ujvXAmTY-ZNfZh604nLSHR2fSv_8F7aiDgNXeEWqlYMDNJQ_aem_AZwWrvZr0b7qIlYeb5ckoNLQwM6gA8moeE3f37Q027W-Xg5aA6ziY0ZaI8F4WcEONA_P56aM5x6w3xLYRw4b9yIr

By Wendy Allison, Wairarapa. In the last article, we looked at the Brown locus – the second of the three main determiners of colour in sheep, and the one that d

29/04/2024

If you’d like to come along to any shows AABMGS host or attend and think you need to show your sheep, well you don’t have to enter the shows. You can do a display just like we do 😊
It’s a fantastic way to show off your sheep and interact with people through educational displays and make connections for sales.
People really are gobsmacked at how little this breed really is 🥰 most have never seen them in real life before so I highly recommend considering doing a display 😁👍 if you have any questions about displaying etc, please feel free to comment or private message me and I can get you all the info you need. It’s an awesome weekend away and a great way to meet some of the AABMGS team☺️
And if you’re wanting a banner like this one, vista print does amazing banners. This cost $60 and I’m super impressed. Absolutely love it ❤️❤️

26/04/2024

Meta said it so it must be true 😂

25/04/2024

Remembering the fallen ❤️

22/04/2024

Pattern?
Colour?
Or what the heck 🤷‍♀️😂

22/04/2024

Doesn’t this make yah chest drop 😳

18/04/2024

Grass seeds in eyes 😞
Half the flock has it and it’s been going on for weeks. The frustration and anguish is real. 🤦‍♀️
Poor girls. Slasher will be working overtime this weekend. I was hoping not to slash because our first frost normally comes in around Anzac Day and the longer grass protects the sweet grass for a few weeks and that buys us some time before we have to purchase hay. Not going to be the case this year. But I’d rather buy hay than round up blind sheep every couple days for treatment.
The joys of sheep farming 😁

15/04/2024

Little miss blue eyes 🥰

11/04/2024

True story 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤭

10/04/2024

Best of British Dora ❤️

I love this ewe 🥰
Super friendly and has the best nature. Such a lovely put together ewe from Best of British stud at Glenlyon, Qld.

10/04/2024

Another mother and daughter pic ❤️

Left mum, grade C and bred by Tanjar babydoll Southdown in W.A.
Right daughter, grade B. Sire was a Dolwen purebred ram.

Wonderful combination of two fantastic studs that produced an amazing ewe.

This year is her first joining so we’re pretty excited to see some lambs from this line 🥰
Even though we like our coloured girls, we still focus on improving white lines too ☺️

06/04/2024

❤️❤️

The Babydoll Southdown sheep, also known as the Olde English Babydoll Southdown, is a small breed of ancient sheep that originated in the South Downs of Sussex, England.

The Babydoll Southdown sheep are the traditional UK Southdown sheep. They are known for their gentle nature, distinctive teddy bear-like appearance, and wool quality. The breed experienced a decline in the early 20th century due to changes in agriculture and preferences for larger sheep breeds that produced more meat. When larger frame Southdowns were bred up in the United States.

In the 1980s, efforts were made to preserve and promote the Babydoll Southdown sheep as a heritage breed, particularly in the United States. Breeders worked to maintain the characteristics of the original Southdown sheep while also emphasizing their small size and unique appearance.

Today, the Babydoll Southdown sheep are popular for their manageable size, easy care, and suitability for small farms and hobby farms. They are also valued for their wool, which is soft and sought after by hand spinners and fiber artists.

The history of the Babydoll Southdown sheep is a story of preservation and revival, as dedicated breeders have worked to ensure the survival of this charming and historically significant breed.

02/04/2024

A mareema, an alpaca, a cat and sheep 😁
The funny farm 😂

02/04/2024

Mother and daughter ❤️
Neer identical.
Right grade C mother.
Left grade B daughter.

30/03/2024

Happy birthday to this wonderful man ❤️❤️🥳🎂🎈
He’s the muscle behind our success and the rock that keeps me grounded. I absolutely adore this awesome man. 🥰🥰

29/03/2024

Have an awesome Easter break everyone 🐇🐣

28/03/2024

We love receiving updates on sheep we’ve sold. ❤️

We often wonder how they’ve grown out and are we breeding to the best of our ability. Well this pic is of a ram we sold to Misty mountain miniatures and mates neer Mackay QLD and we are absolutely smitten and proud of our breeding program. He’s an absolute cracker of a ram 🥰🥰

Edvard is one very loved ram and his owners are completely smitten with him too, the smile says it all ☺️

Misty mountain miniatures will have a page coming soon but please check them out on instagram 🥰

https://www.instagram.com/mistymountain_miniatures?igsh=MWhoYTVzNzVobWpvMA==