Victorian producers of Babydoll sheep are optimistic the breed will serve a variety of industries well, after the first purebred animals were recently registered in 2023.
The cute breed stands at 60 centimetres and have exploded in popularity with smaller hobby farms based on the urban fringes in NSW and Queensland.
But Pam Beerens, Ravenstone, Glenaroua, who was speaking about the breed at this year's Seymour Alternative Farming Expo, said interest in Babydoll Victoria was promising.
"[Babydoll sheep] have not been promoted too much here in Victoria... but they've been going to a number of shows in a number of expos recently," she said.
"They were seen at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show last year, but here at Seymour is one of the first times we are showing the breed in Victoria."
The breed had its local beginnings in 2005, with Roblin Southdown stud, Cootamundra, NSW being the first stud to begin developing a Babydoll sheep breed in 2005 after searching smaller Southdowns in Australian flocks.
By 2020 the first registry was established in the country by the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association, with the breed now commonly called Babydoll, and not Babydoll Southdown, to differentiate it with the Southdown breed.
The Babydoll Sheep Breeders Australia also outlined what they call a "progressive and collaborative approach" to breed development, which includes working to develop a range of wool colours and a wide array of Southdown genetics.
Ms Beerans has been running a commercial flock of Babydoll sheep at Ravenstone for nearly six years and is in the process of registering as a stud.
She said the breed had a special place in her own life.
"When I was a child in New Zealand, my grandfather ran a Southdown stud and my pet lambs for our Calf Club Day were Southdowns.
"Basically the Babydolls go to being the same size as those Southdowns of the 50s and 60s, and without really realising it, I was brought up with Babydolls,
"It would have been great as a kind of 19-year-old to know then what I know, but I've always wanted to go back to having them, so when we moved to Hilldene to run Angus cattle... I said to my father that I wanted to run a few of them at the time."
The multipurpose breed is commonly used for grazing in vineyards and orchids for sucker pruning or lawn mowing, with their short stature not allowing then to eat vines or fruit.
Small sheep can give a high yield of succulent meat while its voluminous fleece has balso een useful to stuff quilts and jackets.
Ms Beerens had 20 lambs last year and currently has 12 ewes running with three rams, which she said was "a little bit bigger than what I originally planned."
"But the basis of this is that I'm going back to my childhood and wanting the breed that I had when I was at school."
