Olde English 'Babydoll' Southdown sheep Olde English 'Babydoll' Southdown sheep The Olde English 'Babydoll' Southdown is a breed of sheep developed in the United States to reflect the original type of Southdown brought over to North America. To meet consumer demand in the early 19th century, farmers in the US and UK began breeding Southdowns that could produce larger cuts of meat. This led to a separate line of sheep that were bigger and leggier, and while flocks of the original type remained, their numbers decreased throughout the 1900s. In 1986, Robert Mock set about searching the United States for sheep that fit this original
Southdown sheep kohl rabi and other forage crops, the folding system took off, increasing in parallel with expanding human population. The system reached its zenith from about 1845 to 1880. The 20th century brought the establishment of pedigree recording. By 1911, 359 registered Southdown flocks contained some 114,495 breeding ewes throughout Britain. Much remained the same until the First World War, when the Southdown flocks declined with some rapidity, as shepherds and farm workers went off to war. By 1922, the 359 pedigree flocks had shrunk to 245. From then until 1939, the registered Southdown flocks numbered around 200. Folded flocks were