Babydoll sheep

[Squeak61]

Hey everyone! My family and I have decided to expand our backyard homestead. We’re contemplating getting 2 babydoll sheep. We thought about goats, but I don’t think they would keep our lawns as “mowed” as we would hope. So I’m just wondering everyone’s opinions on sheep in general, and if they make good pets. Also, does anyone know of any babydoll sheep breeders in Connecticut, Massachusetts, or somewhere in the New England area?

 

[cassie]

As to where to find the babydoll sheep, contact the breed association. My dad once lived in a place with a large yard. The landlord had it fenced and ran some sheep on it. The place looked like a park. The sheep did a great job on the grass. As I remember, there were no flowers. I suspect the sheep would have mowed them too.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I know sheep keep a nice yard do not like the smell old cattle folk here riding mower will too less money no odor

 

[firefowl]

I'm looking at getting a minituare sheep for my backyard sometime in the future, once some trees grow so I can be discreet about it. Babydoll Southdown is one of the three breeds of minituares here in Australia, and that particular breed interests me the most because it produces wool (needs shearing) and they are apparently respectful of fences so won't damage them as much.

I don't have my own sheep though I did raise some on an agistment property and I shear hobby farm sheep including pet sheep so I know a bit about keeping them and their behaviour. The main problem with sheep is they are normally very flighty and panic easily. They just want to get away from humans and don't want to be touched or handled.

However that is the case for flock sheep being raised for production or as lawn mowers not as pets. Pet sheep tend not to do this and will come up to the owner (unless a shearer is near him) and are quite friendly. Especially if you bottle feed them as a lamb, they will become like a dog and follow you everywhere. I think one or two would be fairly quiet, they will make more noise in a flock. If you have enough green grass year round then you don't have to buy in any feed. They should make friendly and affectionate pet if you interact with them often or are in close quarters with them. If you don't see them regularly and you have a large property they may be flighty and scared.

Also if they are just pets you might want to consider getting whethers (castrated males) as they are the easiest to care for. I wouldn't recommend getting a ram if you just have them as pets. Remember they need to be sheared every year so if you don't anticipate learning to shear and buying the equipment you should find out if there are any shearers near you that will be willing to shear 2 sheep and how much they charge. In Australia fly strike is a major problem so sheep are shorn yearly and crutched yearly (6 months after shearing). Crutching is just a partial shearing of the ass area to prevent shit getting stuck to the wool around the buthole. You also may need to make an area for shearing depending on what equipment the shearer has.

Another thing is they get parasites if they overgraze a pasture because they will be eating poo if the grass is too low. Where I live it's quite common to drench sheep which means to squirt a dose of an anthelmintic down their throat. It's used as a preventative more than a treatment and it's usually done at shearing. Very easy to do yourself though. Someone I know raises their sheep organically so they use a ACV/Garlic mixture but they have to drench them every month. If you take good care of you're pet sheep drenching won't be necessary.

 

[MROO]

Contact your local 4H organization, as well. I'm sure some youngster has a wether they would rather send to a pet home than freezer camp. A 4H project lamb is also more likely to have been hand raised and handled than a breeder-raised baby.
As far as the kind of pet they make - pretty good. Goats are more fun (bolder personalities,) but they are also more likely to be a nuisance (bolder personalities!) They aren't quite as good at yard-work as sheep. Goats tend to eat the "good stuff" first. We had absolutely no problem with grass in our yard ... but the weeds needed an axe to remove!
Both will eat your flowers, even through the fence.
Oh - and someone in 4H is likely to know a reasonably priced shearer who will come out for just one or two critters. They might even do it for you for a better price!