Characteristics
It has been split into two sub-breeds. The Southdown raised by commercial growers today, is larger than the "traditional" Southdown of years past. North American Southdowns are also taller than their British counterparts. The original blood line of the English Southdowns are the "Baby Doll" Southdowns in the US. They have been selected specifically for their smaller size of the original blood lines and a focus on wool and hobby breeding rather than commercial meat production. In California and New Zealand, they are placed in vineyards to graze weeds because they are too short to reach the grapes on the vines. Baby Doll breeders claim that their sheep are closer to the old, traditional, British Southdown than are the commercial Southdown sheep being grown today.
Mature weights for rams range from 190 lb (86 kg) to 230 lb (104 kg); ewes weigh from 130 lb (59 kg) to 180 lb (81 kg). From mature ewes, fleece weights are between 5 lb (2.25 kg) and 8 lb (3.6 kg) with a yield of 40% to 55%. The fleeces are considered medium wool type with a fiber diameter of 23.5 to 29.0 microns and a numerical count of 54 to 60. The staple length ranges from 1.5 inches (4 cm) to 2.5 inches (6 cm).
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