Background​

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In line with our members’ wishes, the BSAA has spent the past few years obtaining recognition for the Babydoll breed within the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association (ASSBA) Flock Book, where we were previously included under the heading Southdown. To meet with the demand for the current meat market, the modern Southdown breed has evolved so much, the Babydoll no longer fitted with the Southdown Breed Standard.

 

If you look at the Southdown Breed Standard, you will see it states the Southdown legs should be “of medium length”, whereas we all know Babydolls should be short in the legs. It also states there should be “no wool on face below or around the eye”, whereas the Babydoll Breed Standard does not discriminate against wool on the face of the Babydoll. In fact, most Babydolls will have wool covering on the face. Then there is the height issue with the Modern Southdown being taller with no current height restrictions. The Babydoll, on the other hand, regardless of which Breed Standard you look at, here or internationally, has a height restriction. It was clear to everyone we no longer fitted in with the Southdown Breed Standard and it was unfair for those wanting to show their Babydolls to have to compete in the Southdown class, where exhibitors were finding they did not meet Breed Standard. After a lot of work with ASSBA and Southdown Australia, we finally have our own Babydoll Flock History which is now in the 2020 Flock Register. Consequently, this is our recommended Registry.

 

Foundation Flock

To enable a smooth transition from the Southdown Register to the Babydoll Register, ASSBA stated any sheep currently in the Southdown Register whose breeders wished to be moved to the new Babydoll Register would be listed as Foundation Flock and their subsequent progeny would be classed as Babydolls. 

 

This Foundation Flock listing was closed on March 1st 2021 in-line with Annual Returns by sheep breeders being sent to ASSBA. After this time, any progeny of registered Southdowns who fitted the Babydoll breed standard and whose breeders wish to be moved to the Babydoll register would be placed in the Appendix, regardless of bloodlines. 

 

The same applies to Babydolls moving back to the Southdown register but no date applies as it is already an established Breed register.

 

This means that from March 1st, 2021, Babydolls cannot moved from the Southdown register to the Babydoll register without going through the Appendix.

 

At no time can sheep registered as Babydolls be transferred to the Southdown register without going through the Appendix.

 

The Process of Registration with ASSBA

To register your sheep, you will need the necessary paperwork from the breeders from whom you purchased your stock. The paperwork is a Registration/Transfer paper for rams and Transfer papers for ewes. Alternatively the breeder may do this via the ASSBA website. 

 

If you want to register your sheep, please make sure the person from whom you purchase is registered in the ASSBA Babydoll register. You can check this out on the ASSBA website as the Flock Books are on the ASSBA page and the members are listed. 

 

We often see people selling Babydolls on Gumtree who say they are registered when they are not, so please check things out.

 

Once you have ascertained the Babydolls can be registered, you will need to join ASSBA and choose a Stud Prefix (your chosen Farm/Stud name). Once your paperwork is complete, and you have a Flock number, your Babydolls can be transferred to you.

 

 

The ASSBA Appendix Register

If you have crossbred stock, or small Southdowns, ASSBA has a Grading Up program whereby you can register the progeny of a breeding as long as one of the pair is an ASSBA registered sheep. In this case it would be the ram as there would be little point in crossing a purebred Babydoll ewe with a ram of another breed. 

 

The progeny will be listed on the Appendix register and if you breed the subsequent female progeny to a purebred Babydoll ram each year, by the fourth generation, the sheep can be inspected by ASSBA Inspectors and if they meet the Breed Standard, they can be placed on the full Babydoll register with AF next to their names, denoting they have come from the Appendix Flock. 

 

From then on, the offspring are classified as pure Babydolls. We do encourage people to keep their ewes for breeding up but wether any ram lambs, as crossbred rams do little for any purebred breeding program. In the case of Babydolls, they still make lovely pets though or may still be small enough for vineyard or orchard work.

 

When purchasing Babydolls, please keep in mind IF THE SIRE AND DAM ARE NOT REGISTERED WITH ASSBA AND YOU DO NOT GET THE PAPERWORK OR INFORMATION TO COMPLETE THE ONLINE REGISTRATION, YOUR BABYDOLLS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE REGISTERED WITH ASSBA.

The information regarding registration and the ASSBA Appendix can be found at the back of the ASSBA Flock Book.

https://assba.com.au/edit/Flock_Books/2020%20ASSBA%20Flock%20Book.pdf?28-10-2020%2010:11:53%20AM

 

Why Register with ASSBA?

The ASSBA is the longest serving purebred sheep Registry in Australia with the records going back to 1897.

Registering your sheep with the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association (ASSBA)

• Provides proof of purity for purchasers and showing

• Provides a pedigree and lineage of your sheep

• Adds value to your sheep

• Allows the sheep to be counted and monitored as to numbers and rarity

• Enhances your credibility as a stud stock breeder

• Provides a record to lessen the possibility of in-breeding.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  Can Southdown flocks (registered as at 2020) breeding the Babydoll type transfer across to the Babydoll register and their Southdowns be considered as foundation sheep.

No.   The closing date for this has now closed.

 

2.  Were flocks who transferred from the Southdown registry to the Babydoll registry retain their existing Flock number?

Yes, they did.

 

3.  Is it correct once a Southdown breeder has transferred to the Babydoll register, any additions to their flock can only be purchased from a registered Babydoll flock; otherwise the new sheep (regardless of bloodlines) are considered appendix?

Yes, that is correct. 

 

5.  What happens if a new breeder purchases Babydoll type sheep (of recognised Babydoll type bloodlines) from a Southdown stud and wishes to join the Babydoll register? Will their flock be considered Appendix; or will they be considered foundation sheep?

The flock will be considered Appendix, as the Foundation Flock closed on March 1st, 2021.

 

6.  I just bought some Babydoll sheep from Gumtree. The owners told me they were registered but they did not give me any paperwork. How do I register them?

Unfortunately, you will not be able to register them with the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association other than in the Appendix. (See information regarding Appendix) To fully register your Babydolls, they MUST BE PUREBRED and you MUST GET THE NECESSARY PAPERWORK from the vendors for proof of bloodlines.

 

7.  If a Babydoll is a Southdown, why does the progeny of a Babydoll and a Modern Southdown need to go through the Appendix?

The Modern Southdown breeders have taken many years of evolving the breed to get it to where it is today, and it takes more than one generation to take it back to the Babydoll type. Yes, you may get the occasional fluke where the breeding produces a true to type Babydoll, but there is no guarantee this will continue with the subsequent breeding. Going through the Appendix gives you four generations in which to produce a true to type Babydoll and the resulting progeny will be more reliable in both phenotype and genotype. This is illustrated in the photo below of a Babydoll X Modern Southdown, compared to a pure Babydoll.

 

8.  Can I register coloured Babydoll sheep with ASSBA

No.  ASSBA does not register any coloured sheep of any breed.