Lambradoodles: The Birth of a NEW BREED

 

                     

THE BIRTH OF THE LAMBRADOODLE (TM) BREED

 A new breed of miniature pet sheep


  Selective breeding is the practice of choosing parent animals for the purpose of reproducing specific desired traits.  The creation of a new breed of animal takes many, many years of selective breeding.  The first generations are basically breed crosses.  Then, taking those breed crosses, breeding them together to establish an animal that will "breed true" to the desired traits.  
Traditionally, the first cross is your F1 generation.  The F refers to foundation stock.  When two F1s breed, their offspring should give you an F2 generation.  An offspring's generation rating is typically determined by the parent with the lowest rating.  For example, an F1 sire and an F2 Dam will produce an F2 but an F2 sire and dam would result in an F3.

BREED GOALS:

· Small: breed goal is 24” although currently, high percentage harlequins are roughly 26 inches and taller.  Valais blacknose are roughly 30 to 32 inches.

· Horns: absent. 
Both the babydoll and harlequin are naturally poled (hornless).  The Valais has large curling horns. 

· Coat: attractive, medium wool. Softer than Valais but longer than babydolls and more open.  Mixed color patterns of black and white.  Wool on ears, forehead, cheeks, less around eyes.

· Ears: small, triangular ears

· Temperament:  docile, friendly and gentle. 

 

CHOOSING LAMBRADOODLE (TM) BREED-UP STOCK:

One parent is an F1 Valais being 50% babydoll
The F1 Valais being 50% babydoll helps to accomplish the goal of small size and diminutive horns or the absence of horns.

 

One parent is spotted babydoll OR F0, F1 or F2 Harlequin with HIGH percentage of babydoll.

The harlequin is still in the breed-up stages starting from about seven different breeds.  Some highly spotted but also flighty breeds were used as foundation stock so many harlequins are very athletic and can tend to be flightier depending on what their breeder focused on.  Because of this, we only want to use breed-up sheep that are in the F0—F2 range with very high percentages of babydoll.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The DRAMA Builds....

Image
  a few of the blood cards submitted to Neogen for  DNA analysis.  The DNA tests have been submitted to the labs at Neogen.  Now, all we can do is wait. Each day, I look at each of the lambs.  Not a causual glance either.... more like a stalker... trying to make my best guess as to who the father may be of whom. (and I'm really hoping I used the word, whom, correctly there) It is no chore to stare at these beautiful lambs.  Spots, blotches, whites,      grey-blues, blacks... each lamb so beautiful and unique.   But all the while I'm enjoying their vibrant personalities and coats, I'm thinking... are  you a babydoll or are you a lambradoodle(tm). Firstly, as babydoll, that sea of spots means incredible color breeding success!  Piebald (spotted) babydolls are very rare.  I worked with breeding sheep for nine years before I helped my first piebald babydoll lamb into the world.  They are lovely sheep and very sought after.  Even over-seas buyers are vying for them. valais blac
Read more

Introducing the lambradoodle (tm) sheep: miniature, curly coated, friendly, weed gobbling floofs!

Image
 Introducing: the Lambradoodle (TM) Sheep What has soft curly hair, a friendly smile, gentle demeanor all wrapped up in a colorful, mini-floof package?   The lambradoodle (TM) .   Nope… that isn’t a typo… it’s a sheep. And this mini sheep just may be the most amazingly fun and friendly weed-eater you never knew you couldn’t live without! Sheep are amazing property tenders.   They are easier to keep contained than goats, give you wool that you can craft, spin or use as water retaining soil amendment; all while nibbling down and turning it into outstanding fertilizer. Miniature sheep breeds are hugely popular for folks wanting a pet with a purpose.   Among the small sheep breeds, pure-bred olde English babydoll Southdown sheep averaging around 24 inches at the shoulder are the BIG winners in the mini sheep world.   Traditionally white or chocolate, rare black and white babydolls are intensely sought after. That is until the Valais blacknose sheep broke the internet!   Not a tru
Read more