February 5, 2025

In the last few months, I have received numerous requests from potential new owners who are beginners in the sheep world and are interested in my unregistered Valais Cross lambs. They wonder if my sheep would be a good match for them. I thought it might be helpful to write out my thoughts for the new sheep owner who is considering purchasing one of my crosses and who has asked me for my own recommendations and opinions about these sheep.

First, why have I expanded into breeding Valais Blacknose crosses instead of only my purebred Babydoll Southdown sheep? My reasons are twofold: these Valais Blacknose cross sheep are excellent for those of us who like to train our livestock guardian dogs, due to their calm, friendly dispositions and second, these crosses are remarkably friendly toward people, compared to many other breeds of sheep, and so they make sheep raising a much, much more pleasant and enjoyable experience. They are easier to catch and handle and they treat farm visitors very well, making everyone want to come back again for another visit. 

Of course there are still other reasons, such as the Valais Blacknose being cuter than almost any other breed of sheep (IMHO) and, when crossed with the Babydoll Southdown, they are simply perfection.

If you are new to sheep, however, I think you will want to strongly consider your goals in raising sheep and Valais Blacknose crosses in particular, before making your decision. What will be your purpose in breeding sheep? Will you want to breed for better meat? For better wool? For the experience of raising sheep? To better a particular breed? To get involved in Heritage Breeds and keep them alive? To train herding dogs or guardian dogs? To be able to make a particular kind of item with your lamb’s wool? Do you want to show sheep? How many times a year do you want to shear your sheep for wool? Your answers to these questions will be a big part of whether it is smart for you to get a particular breed of sheep or to invest in some Valais Blacknose crosses or maybe you would prefer a purebred Valais Blacknose from a purebred Valais Blacknose breeder. With my VBN crosses (Valais Blacknose crosses), for example, lambs will need to be shorn twice a year because their wool grows prolifically. This is great if you love wool and want to utilize it. If you don’t, you might want to stick with the Babydoll Southdown or another breed of sheep who only needs a shearing annually (and who will have a much shorter staple length).

If you are serious about the Valais Blacknose Sheep breed and you wish to breed purebred sheep, you will want to consult a breeder of Purebred Valais Blacknose sheep. You will want to consider that you will have a significant monetary investment in front of you. You will almost certainly not make a profit, at least not for a very long time, and you will have considerable stress with such a risky investment. However, this is still a very noble project. You will be making possible a most amazing and wonderful thing: establishing this incredible sheep breed in America and helping it adapt genetically to living in our country. However, I generally feel that this purebred Valais Blacknose endeavor is better suited to the more experienced sheep breeder, and not the beginner, because of the risks involved and the size of the investment to get into such a business.

I personally have settled on breeding Valais Blacknose crosses whom I have named “BabyValais”. In my breeding, I stick with the 87.5% or less of Valais Blacknose for a number of reasons. First, I can better afford a good, healthy ram who can display good type for the breed early on in his breed-up journey. Second, I can cross the world’s cutest sheep, the Valais Blacknose, with America’s cutest breed of sheep, which (IMHO) is the Babydoll Southdown, which I have raised and bred with seriousness for fifteen years, so my breeding stock is of excellent quality with very sound breeding ability. Third, my first farm love are my livestock guardian dogs, and my Valais crosses are absolutely excellent with my puppies as they are being raised and trained. These “BabyValais” are patient, calm, friendly and extremely well suited to the task of letting livestock dogs become really good at their job. Fourth, it is my dream to be a sort of “backup” for the Valais breed by having really sound genetics behind my crosses, in case the newer experiment of raising purebreds in America reaches an impass of any kind. For example, the purebred Valais is known for having difficulties here in America with low vitamin D levels. It is hard to say if this is just due to the elevations generally being lower in the United States than in the Swiss Alps, or for some other reason, but some of the purebred owners are finding that their lambs are breaking bones early on because of this deficiency. We have not had any trouble with this with our 87.5% or less crosses. Fifth and finally, my sheep are well suited to the Midwest. We have bred our Babydoll ewe line successfully here for 15 years. We have also obtained some wonderful larger-framed wool sheep from a local breeder who has carefully and thoughtfully bred her ewes here for more than 30 years, to include into some of my Valais Cross genetics.

When I am asked whether someone new to sheep should buy my BabyValais lambs, I hesitate because I know that (1) they will not make money for many years, no matter what they sell their future lambs for, because to do it well takes years of hard work, hard decisions and will entail financial losses for many years if they are working to get their breeding stock very sound before selling to other breeders and (2) they will not yet have the market to sell them easily. That marked will come much later, in my opinion, but it will come as people begin to realize how special these crosses are. Of course, I have tried to take many years off of that process by making sure that I breed sound sheep with good type, so that should help any potential breeders who may be interested in my stock. So, I think it is wise to only enter this endeavor if you are someone who really enjoys the Valais Blacknose Breed and the Babydoll Southdown for their own innate traits, but not because raising the crosses will be profitable.

We have found that the higher the percentage of Valais Blacknose genetics, the more it is necessary to offer supplemental grain: especially for lambs, yearlings and pregnant/nursing sheep. The higher the percentage of Babydoll Southdown in our crosses, the less additional or supplemental feed we have to offer.  As a general rule, Babydolls are extremely hardy and can thrive well on a very simple grass diet, provided they have adequate water and minerals.  For this reason, once we finish our own learning with our various percentage Valais crosses, we will ultimately settle upon the particular cross that we consider most ideal: (1) best personality, sound conformation and health. (The nicer their personality, the easier it is to care for them generally speaking), (2) wool that is useful for what we like to do — make socks (3) lambs that gain weight well and sheep that reproduce easily, (4) lambs that are hardy and can thrive with little grain and much grass, and of course, (5) cultivating the cuteness. This is what we are shooting for here at Little Flower Lambs and we hope to share our lambs with others who may enjoy similar goals.

We have our own internal naming system that you can see on our website that we use for our lambs, depending upon what percentage of Valais Blacknose they are and also what percentage of Babydoll Southdown they are. We call them MOPS, BOPS, MOP BOPS, BABY BOPS, etc., depending upon what is behind them. If you are interested in the more hardy, easier to keep feed-wise, small to medium, lamb, you may want to consider a BOP or a BABY BOP, with a higher percentage of Babydoll. If you just want extreme cuteness with slightly bigger size, you may want to go with our SUPER MOPS (66% Valais).

If you are new to sheep and you are interested in showing, you will want to check on what the rules are for crossed sheep. In the purebred Valais world, it seems that most of the shows only allow showing if the crosses are part of the breed-up program, which means you will be working towards breeding for the purebred animal by the fifth generation. [This is not what we are doing here]. These sheep entrants typically must be ewes — not wethers or rams. Rams are usually only allowed if purebred. You will also want to get lambs that are fully registered in one of the Valais registries and check the rules in each registry to make sure you know what they are in advance. You will want to have a very good grasp of the breed standard. Of course, we are very interested in the breed standard for both the VBN and the Babydoll here on our farm, but obviously if you are breeding for the purebred animal, you will want to know your breed standard inside out and upside down before you make such an investment.

Although a few of my lambs are registered as foundation stock with VBSS, I only sell my BabyValais lambs as “unregistered” because I do not want to go into the purebred world at this time or be involved with registrations at all (other than with my Babydolls, who are all registered). I have been breeding purebred sheep for fifteen years (Babydolls) and now that I am closer to retirement, I am wanting to really increase the fun, relaxation, joy, etc., around my sheep and keep a lighter stride, so to speak. I want to create a breed that is fun to be around, adorable but also practical and that preserves the heritage breed genetics, even if they are not purebred, in order to maximize their health and well-being and suitability to our Midwest location. I am looking ultimately to create a medium or a moderate-sized sheep — not a miniature nor a standard large-framed sheep, but a sheep capable of reproducing easily with a good carcass and a solid frame who is in the small-to-medium size range, but not miniature.

I want meat! Almost any sheep can technically be raised for meat. However, some breeds are heavier and grow much faster than others (like Suffolks, Hampshires, Texels, Dorpers, and others) and so are commonly used for commercial meat production. Some breeds are very small (like Jacobs or Finns) and some breeds grow very slowly (like Babydolls) so they are not often used in commercial production. They were often shared between several families in England for meat before refrigeration was available. Breeds of sheep that grow slowly are often very flavorful, and the meat is very tender even in sheep of a few years of age (unlike fast-growing breeds which get tough, sometimes even after the first year). So whether or not these crosses are right for meat production will depend upon several factors. If you are interested in delicious, slow-growing meat that can be harvested even from a slightly older animal, they might be right for you. If you want speed and efficiency in production, and animals that can go to market quickly, then a traditional meat-production breed is probably more what you are looking for. Of course, you will probably find that the Valais crosses are just too cute and personable to send to market at all, but as always, a breeder must always keep in mind the animal’s original purpose when breeding. Meat has always been a goal of livestock production, so the breeder must take this into serious consideration when it comes to conformation and breeding. Otherwise, breeders probably should not breed livestock animals, but better, domestic pets. Generally speaking, with my specialized program, I put more emphasis on lovely wool, health and personality than on strictly excellent meat production, since my crosses are generally more ideal for farms where the animals will interact with visitors.

I want to show! There are broadly two kinds of sheep shows: purebred and market. Purebred shows for sheep are a lot like shows for purebred dogs. The judge(s) compare animals against the purebred standard and rank animals based on correctness and type. For these kinds of shows, you will need a purebred and registered ewe or ram. Purebred shows usually do not have classes for wethers (neutered males). Registered Babydoll sheep can be shown in purebred shows, but our BabyValais crosses cannot. 

Market shows are more common in agricultural areas, at 4H shows, and in FFA settings. Market shows judge lambs on the quality of the animal for production purposes, usually meat. There are even classes that judge the quality of the slaughtered animal’s carcass. These types of shows are usually limited to lambs under a year of age, or even lambs born within the calendar year. Many classes are for wether lambs, though they often have classes for ewe lambs, and occasionally classes for ram lambs. Many kids showing in 4H or FFA do not actually breed their own lambs to show, but rather purchase a very young lamb early in the year and “grow it out” for the show. Sometimes a lamb must be weighed-in a few months in advance. These shows place animals with rapid weight gain, a well-muscled carcass, tight unblemished skin, and other marketable characteristics. These sheep usually do not need to be purebred but are almost always some kind of production breed, like a Suffolk or a Hampshire (or a cross.) Babydolls or BabyValais crosses grow much more slowly and do not have the size usually required for market shows. If these kinds of shows are your goal, you would probably be better served by acquiring traditional meat-production breeds. 

Both kinds of shows require some intense preparation. The animal must be fit, healthy, well-exercised, clean, and groomed in the manner required by the show. For more information on purebred shows, check out the website of the National breed association you are interested in. For more information on market shows, find the website of individual shows in your area or contact your county extension office for information about 4H and FFA shows. 

I want pets or to raise friendly sheep for the joy of it! This is where the BabyValais (our Valais Blacknose crosses) truly shine. Their temperaments and cuteness make them highly suitable for pets, petting zoos, hobby farms, children, or just for the sheer enjoyment of watching sheep mow your lawn or make you smile. 

I want to have wool! The BabyValais are very prolific producers of wool. Since we have started making these crosses only in recent years, we are still learning which crosses produce wool that is ideal for which particular kinds of spinning projects. Stay tuned and we will share what we learn down the road in coming years.

I hope this is helpful to someone thinking about buying my Valais crosses. As much as I would love your business, I want you to be really sure that you are looking for my particular sheep and not for a different sheep all together. I hope I can answer any other questions you may have, but please understand that it can take me a while as I get quite a number of inquiries and sometimes I just cannot answer everyone as I would like. Whatever you do, find something in the sheep world that really suits YOU and makes you happy. Streamline your goals and stay focused until you find the breed/type of sheep that you can enjoy for a long, long time on your farm. You can do most anything, but you cannot do everything. Taking time to figure out what you really want before you invest in sheep can help maximize your happiness and fulfillment with whatever you choose to take on.

I hope this gives you some idea of what we are trying to do here on our farm and  so you can see if your goals and dreams match well with ours. If so, you have come to the right place! If not, you may want to pursue your goals through either a purebred breeder of the Valais Blacknose sheep or by getting in touch with other breeders of other well-researched, specific sheep breeds and see what you can find out from experts in these areas.

Thank you for your interest in our sheep.

Lisa Arnold

(With many thanks to one of my lovely daughters who added some important and relevant sections to this emerging “tome” for beginners.)