Southdown sheep reach the grapes on the vines. Baby Doll breeders claim that their sheep are closer to the original English Southdown than are the commercial Southdown sheep being grown today. Mature weights for rams range from 190 to 230 lb (86-104 kg); ewes weigh from 130 to 180 lb (59-81 kg). From mature ewes, fleece weights are between 5.0 and 8.0 lb ((2.5 - 3.6 kg) with a yield of 40% to 55%. The fleeces are considered medium-wool type with a fiber diameter of 23.5 to 29.0 microns and a numerical count of 54 to 60. The staple length ranges from
Breed registry conformation shows. For the breed to move to the Miscellaneous class and then to fully recognized status, the breed's stud book must be closed. A closed stud book allows the breed to stay very pure to its type, but limits its ability to be improved. This may put a breed at a disadvantage, especially in performance disciplines, where an animal is worth more if it is successful in competition even if it is not pure. It also limits the gene pool, which may make certain undesirable characteristics become accentuated in the breed, such as a poor conformational fault or a