Hello, I am new to the list and I have a question about how to properly shear Southdown sheep. I have the Olde English Babydoll Southdowns and was told that you do not shear the legs, so that they remain stubby looking. I haven't been able to find breed specific shearing information anywhere. Thanks a lot! I'm looking forward to reading all the posts. Sabina
Some sheep, like Shetlands, have "clean" legs--no wool grows on them, just real short hair. I don't know about Southdowns, but if wool grows on their legs and they were mine, it would come off. Leg wool is usually trash, no matter what the breed, but it needs to come off to remove tags and debris. Sometimes breed standards aren't necessarily in the animals best interest. But if you are planning on showing these, then you will need to conform to be competitive.
I can't think of a practical reason to leave wool on the legs soooo I'm thinking it's a show sheep requirement (which may be practical for that!) Shearing the legs would give a sheep a taller look and potentially an unfair advatage. It might just be a requirement so the breed is adequately displayed! I don't show sheep but know enough to suggest the actual reason but I'd bet lunch it's show related.
Hi, My family has had BD Southdowns in the past. They were just breeding stock, so did not worry about shearing their legs. So it just depends on wither you are showing, or have pets or breeding stock.
