This site is about a small, round, exceptionally good-natured sheep: the Babydoll Southdown, often called the miniature Southdown, and known to almost everyone who meets one as a teddy bear sheep.
Not miniaturised, just unchanged
The name is a little misleading. These are not a scaled-down version of anything. They are Southdowns as Southdowns used to be, before the twentieth century bred the modern commercial sheep up to a bigger frame and a longer leg. The old smaller type was never lost entirely, and the sheep that carried it forward are the ones now called Babydolls, or Olde English Babydoll Southdowns.
Where they come from
The Southdown belongs to the chalk downland of Sussex, in the south of England. It was brought into a consistent, recognisable breed by John Ellman of Glynde in the decades either side of 1800, and it went on to influence a great many of the other down breeds. What made it valuable was its ability to do well on thin grassland, and the quality of its fleece: fine, dense and springy, and still sought after by hand spinners today.
Why people keep them
Partly for the obvious reason. A field of Babydolls is a cheerful sight, and their temperament matches their expression: calm, curious and easy to be around. Beyond the charm, their size suits small acreage, and their inability to reach much above knee height has given them a genuine working niche grazing between vines and under fruit trees, where a larger sheep would make short work of the crop.
They are still sheep, of course, with everything that goes with it: shearing once a year, feet to keep an eye on, fencing they will test, and a strong preference for company. But as a way into keeping a few sheep, there are far harder places to start.