We acquired our Miniature Southdown Babydoll ewes May 2023, and since our dairy cow and her calf arrived a month later turning our schedules upside down, we decided to wait until 2024 to find a Babydoll ram. And here we are! Meet Jon Bruce!!

Is that the cutest face you’ve ever seen?? His name – Jon Bruce – is a story in itself.

When he was born, someone had reserved him from the breeder and requested his name be registered as Bruce Lee, which is exactly what happened.

However, there was a deeper story unfolding at the time.

A stray dog had gotten onto the breeder’s property, and while it didn’t kill anything, it did attack Jon Bruce’s mom, Bonnie. Bonnie was found with her head and the side of her face looking like hamburger. She was rushed to the emergency vet where two veterinarians did reconstructive surgery on her face and saved her life and her pregnancy. She then gave birth to two perfect little lambs who were named after the two veterinarians – Jon and Jen.

Here’s a photo of Jon and Jen, only a couple days old in February 2020. Photo courtesy of Hey Day Acres TN.

Jon Bruce’s purchaser gave up sheep farming in 2023 and returned him to his breeder. Just about every ewe he bred fall of 2023 is popping out triplets right now. We decided to purchase him instead of waiting for a ram lamb to be born. And we are so happy with him. We wanted to keep his registry name, Bruce, but also wanted to honor his story, so we’re calling him Jon Bruce.

Since Babydolls are little, we picked him up in the SUV. He was quiet and curious the whole drive home, just looking out the window like a puppy dog.

When we arrived home, we placed him in the enclosed sheep shed (which we are now calling the ram shack) for the remainder of the day to let him rest after his travels. The other sheep were pretty excited to meet him through the gate.

The next morning, since we were not concerned with him fighting with another ram, we turned him out with the ewes. They sniffed around a bit, but there was no aggression or head butting. Apparently, he has never been around a cow, so he was awestruck by Belle, our Mini Jersey. He followed her around or stared at her from a close distance the first two days. I think he’s in love.

The one rule with rams is: DON’T ever pet their head, even if they are docile, hornless Babydolls. That can lead to head butting against your leg causing bruises, lacerations, or even broken bones if they hit you right. Not good. Rams have a job to do, they are not pets. Best to just ignore them, which is oh so hard to do when they’re this cute.

On the bright side: We will get to snuggle his babies come spring!

For sheep folks: He is registered with NABSSAR and OEBMSSR. QR genotype. Born Feb 13, 2020 at Hey Day Acres TN. Sire: Gulliver, Moon Hollow Ranch CA. Dam: Bonnie, Bishop’s Babydolls NC.