Babydoll sheep to make fair appearance

One Plains girl might be a bit sheepish when talking with adults, but when it comes to showing sheep, she can be quite talkative.

Ayla Rehbein of the 4-H club South Side Sparks showed her Suffolk Hampshire last year and took grand champion accolades in showmanship and reserve championship in the breeding class. Though she's showing "June" again in showmanship, she's showing her newest sheep in a new class this year. The 10-year-old Rehbein of Plains will have her two Olde English Babydoll Southdown sheep competing in the fiber class category at the fair.

Sanders County Extension Agent Juli Thurston, who heads the 4-H program, was able to create the fiber class category in June, at which time Rehbein immediately started training "Derby" and "Clover" to show them at the fair. Though she's not graded for her showmanship skills when presenting her babydolls, she wants them to be manageable when showing them to the judge.

She initially got the wether - neutered males - babydoll sheep as pets, but she has also had them sheared and sold their wool online and locally. Her mother, Beth, said babydoll sheep wool is extremely soft with a cashmere quality. She got them as lambs and they're now 18 months old. She likes this breed because they are smaller than other sheep breeds. While other sheep weigh an average of 140-150 pounds, the babydolls weigh about 80 pounds and they are only about 24 inches tall.

Rehbein has been in the South Side Sparks for three years, starting as a cloverbud. She now competes as a junior. Besides her two sheep projects, she also has projects in woodworking, photography, and cowboy poetry. Her 5-year-old sister, Emma, is a cloverbud in 4-H, but will be showing rabbits and poultry in open class.

Though mom helps her daughter, Ayla mostly takes care of her sheep by herself, feeding them twice a day, making sure they get exercise, and training them. "They were pretty crazy when we started, but now they're getting a lot better," said Rehbein, who works with each of them for 10-15 minutes a day, mostly one at a time. Derby jumped a lot when they began and at times when they didn't want to be led on the leash, they'd just fall down and munch on the grass. To help, she rewards them with treats.

She said it took only a couple of weeks to get them walking with a leash and they do pretty good. "She sells their wool, but they're mostly buddies," said Beth. "I sit in the stall with them and they love on me," said Ayla. "Clover's confirmation is better, but I like Derby's mind," she added. She also said that Derby walks better, but Clover sets up better. "They're both so sweet. Derby's quieter, Clover is more crazy," she said. She has two other babydolls in the flock - "Smudge" and "Smarty" - who needed a home, but Beth said they're just part of the family.

"Ayla's been scrambling to get them halter trained and ready for the show. They were stinking wild," said Beth. But her daughter is confident on taking top honors with her sheep projects. "I think they're ready," Rehbein said of her babydolls, "but I'll keep working with them."