Problems with the amount of milk are more often observed in older individuals, after the age of eight. Black spots, to a limited extent on the body and legs are permissible, but an entirely white sheep or a sheep predominantly black is undesirable. Live weight gains that allow lambs to reach about 36kg (79lb) (17kg (37lb) - 18kg (39lb) carcase) in 100 days has been obtained from first cross animals grown in the Mallee region. Some owners have experienced all the problem areas shedding on their own but the main body not shedding, requiring just a minor amount of shearing. A wonderful breed, wool of the highest quality. Their meat is exquisite without the gamey taste one usually finds with mutton. This is because of the natural mothering instincts of the ewes. There are two main subspecies of dorpers: the former have a black head, with the same dark upper part, neck, and the latter are pure white and have no dark color at the genetic level. It offers excellent health benefits as well. Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society of South Africa, provided by Henry du Plooy, Kiewietskloof, Griekwastad 8365, Northern Cape, South Africa, Henry du Plooy, Kiewietskloof, Griekwastad 8365, Northern Cape, South Africa Mr P J Cilliers (Jnr), P.O. The cost of Dorper sheep varies with purebred Dorpers being less expensive than fullblood Dorpers. The excessive milk production of the ewe helps ensure early growth for your lambs. Dorper ewes can be bred any time of year. Dorpers utilize shrubs and bushes to a greater extent, but grass to a lesser extent in relation to Merino sheep. Continue with Recommended Cookies. For any other inquiries on how to place your order, price per livestock or shipment cost, do not hesitate to contact us. The Dorper sheep put on wool in cold climates and shed in warm weather. The Dorset Horn rams crossed with Blackhead Persian ewes produced fast growing and heavily muscled lambs yielding very satisfactory economic returns under a variety of environmental conditions. In this case, the basis of the daily diet are hay and straw, grain, bran, silage and root crops, which are usually harvested for feeding animals in the cold season. Select Genes Ltd., Irene 1675, Republic of South Africa. It will also produce up to 9 pounds of medium-grade wool annually. They typically produce single lambs with each pregnancy. During a phase D2 growth test at Tweedie, the average daily gain was 160 g per day in the test while the average daily gain per day of age was 203 g per day. This study was designed to evaluate breed differences in resistance to Haemonchus contortus in lambs. The Dorper was developed in South Africa during the 1930's by crossing Horned Dorsets with Black Headed Persians. The Dorper breed of sheep is famous for its numerous advantages, including simplicity in care and maintenance, rapid growth, good productivity, high quality meat and leather. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Use: Dorper sheep are a large, hardy meat sheep breed from South Africa. Dorper sheep can fetch a high value at the market. Purebreds can trace their lineage all the way back to South Africa. They grow really fast. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Essentially, this means that they will eat whatever grass, hay, plants, and shrubs are in their field. Important! While Dorpers have many great qualities, the number of lambs they produce can be a negative aspect. To avoid inbreeding, it is crucial that farmers practice ram rotation. Member Details. To provide the population of the country with meat, a hardy sheep was needed, capable of subsisting and fattening in the arid regions of the country. Local experience indicates that carcasses with fat scores[3] of 2 to 3 to be easily obtained under these conditions. How to Feed Sheep, What Not to Feed, Cutting Costs, and More, 7 Sheep Companion Animals as Livestock Guardians, Merino Sheep Breed Information: A Good Forager and Producer of High-Quality Wool, Pasteurella in Sheep: Tips to Help You Identify, Treat, and Prevent It, How to Prevent and Treat Life-Threatening Bloat in Sheep, Katahdin Sheep: Low-Maintenance Meat and Milk Producer, All You Should Know About Bottle-Feeding Lambs. The two are considered identical, other than the coloring, so there is no preference when it comes to meat, rearing, breeding, or other factors. This protection can take the natural form of trees and canopies or a more stable shed. Romanov Sheep: Is This Short-Tailed Breed Suitable For My Farm? BREEDING DORPER SHEEP. Its hornless with a relatively long body length and has a short and light wool covering, requiring little shearing. Dorper sheep are also natural shedders and they are attractive to local . Our mission at Pet Keen is to make the life of you and your pets easier and even more enjoyable. Easy going temperament. If, after half an hour, the baby did not get up and did not get drunk on the mothers colostrum, then after a maximum of two hours the uterus will have to be milked and the lamb will be artificially watered (in an hour he should drink at least 50 ml of colostrum). To do so, they crossed British Dorset Horn rams with fat-tailed Blackhead . Othersheep breedssuch as theVan Rooyare also believed to have contributed to the development of the White Dorper sheep breed. The gestation period of a sheep lasts for 140150 days, after which two to five lambs are born, weighing 25 kg each. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. PO Box 259 399+ garden and backyard landscape design ideas! The life expectancy of Dorper sheep is no more than 15 years., but after 58 years of maintenance, it ceases to be justified: animals no longer gain weight. E-mail: office@dorpersheep.org, Copyright 2023 American Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society, Application for Registering Ewes & Rams fillable, National Dorper and White Dorper Show & Sale, Mid-South Regional Dorper Breeders Association, Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society of South Africa, National Sheep Industry Improvement Program, Nutritional Effects on Parasites American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control, Tools for Managing Internal Parasites in Small Ruminants: Copper Wire Particles. The Dorper was developed in the 1930s by crossing a Dorset ram with a Persian ewe. The Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand lists and describes rare and minority breeds that it aims to preserve and promote. It measures 27 to 35 microns and has a 5 to 10-pound clip with a 2 to 4-inch staple. They do one thing, and they do it well. disadvantages. Dorper rams are typically ready to breed at five months. Wethers & ram have been used as training sheep to educate working dogs. Dorper Sheep. KJH Dorper Sheep is located in North Texas 26 miles northwest of Fort Worth, in Azle, TX. Ages vary. Dorper sheep were first bred in South Africa and were bred to cope with the semi-arid climate of the region. The Dorper ewes range from 150 to 200 pounds( 50 80 kg)mature weight. Sheep Dorper sheep breed: characteristics, breeding, photos . Dorper is a good meat breed. You may have never heard of them, but Dorper sheep are an amazing breed. Additionally, you will need to know how many heads you want to buy. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Furthermore the breed shows exceptional adaptability, hardiness, reproduction rates and growth (reaching 36 kg [~80 lbs] at three and a half to four months) as well as good mothering abilities. The breed was bred in the 30s of the last century in South Africa. 1. The Dorper is an easy-care animal that produces a fleece of little wool that is shed late spring-summer. Use the search! Under such conditions, the mass of lambs increases rapidly and at 1 month they weigh 3-4 times more than at birth. Wool predominantly covers their forequarter. The rams have a weight range from 230 to 275 pounds while the ewes range from 155 to 210 pounds. The small head and fragile structure of the skeleton of the newborn allows him to pass through the birth canal without hindrance, and if there are no health problems, a small sheep will show increased activity in 10 minutes, constantly being close to the mother. Fat in the muscle layer is distributed evenly, and not in thick plates as in other varieties of lamb. Sheep need up to 5 gallons of fresh water per day. Last seen: 01/07/2017 - 16:28 Joined: 01/07/2017 - 15:01 Please Help! The Dorper ewes from this cross were excellent mothers that could be bred in any season. Dorpers are known to adapt well to feed conditions which offer farmers an alternative method to finish lambs in times of drought. According to approximate estimates of scientists, the first sheep on Earth appeared about 6-7 thousand years ago, and they began to spread around the globe from the territory of Turkey. A post shared by LIVESTOCK EXPORTERS S.A (@livestock_exporters_sa). The weight of a sheep reaches 120 kg, the weight of a ram is 180. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". My Dorper sheep cost $10 per head to overwinter. Easy to work with, Dorpers adapt well to people, characters, and conditions. The South African Meat Board took on the challenge of producing a meat sheep breed that would produce a higher quality carcass and yet, thrive under arid to semi-arid conditions. Dorper. Fullblood means that the sheep can trace its heritage directly back to South African stock. The Dorset Horn was successfully crossed with the Blackheaded Persian to create the breed. The South African Department of Agriculture bred this sheep because they wanted a meat sheep that was better able to stand up to the areas arid climate. The breed is regarded as having the ability to graze and browse which suggests it will consume plants seldom eaten by other sheep. Sheep Breeds. An alternative option for nutrient mixtures are cereals from a mixture of different cereals, peeling vegetables. Dorpers respond well to increased planes of nutrition, giving growers the potential to increase weights rapidly in response to market demands. Dorpers easily gain weight, and a few bites of corn with each meal adds the extra weight necessary for heavy market sheep. It is a hardy animal, does not require shearing or crutching, and is less prone to suffer from flystrike. If we compare them with other lambs, then they are 2-3 times ahead of them in development. According to Dr Q P Campbell in "Make Money with Mutton Sheep", the average daily gain of Dorpers under extensive conditions was from 81 g to 91 g per day. 2022 Winter; 2022 Autumn; . D1150 ECHUCA. Additionally, this thick skin protects the Dorper in tough weather conditions. Let us help you get started raising Dorper sheep. The name Dorper is a coupling of the first syllables of the parent breeds Dorset and Persian . We are going to discuss the various characteristics of Dorper sheep as well as some of what makes raising them so successful and easy. **. It reputably does well in various range and feeding conditions and is also suited to intensive feeding. Organisation of Field Days and education programmes. This can be provided in buckets, troughs, stock tanks, or automatic waterers. Dorper lambs have inherent growth potential (ability to graze at an early age). Sheep 101, The Maryland Small Ruminant Page It is noteworthy that keeping sheep in unheated pens during the cold season will not cause serious problems with their health. This breed was developed by the crossing of a Dorset Horn x Blackhead Persian around the 1930s. The skin comprises a high percentage of the income (20%) of the total carcass value. document.write(''); Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. However, breeding the Dorper with woolier breeds will result in this characteristic if you require it. For example, due to untimely cleaning of manure, they may develop hoof rot, not to mention the possible fractures or dislocations of the limbs with an inconvenient layout of the stall design. Rambouillet sheep are the most common breed and perhaps the first of the U.S western area sheep flocks. The coats of wild sheep, like that of most animals, does not grow continuously. White Dorper sheep have white bodies and white heads. The first is Bleu du Maine. In 1964 the two breeds merged into one society to include Dorper and White Dorper sheep. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The New Zealand Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society. Member Details. Currently the Dorper sheep is the second most common sheep breed in the . From an American point of view (the point is located precisely in the state of Texas). A young ram can service around 25 ewes while a mature ram can manage as many as 50 in 55 days. If you choose to raise Dorset Horn sheep, you are helping ensure the survival of future generations of this incredible animal. Like other sheep breeds, Dorper has its advantages and disadvantages, although the latter are not so significant. Disclosure. Long Breeding Season - Dorper sheep are either non-seasonal or have an extended breeding season so both rangeland and ranch/farm operations can be managed to alleviate stress on land and animals. The Dorper skin is the most sought-after sheepskin in the world[citation needed] and is marketed under the name of Cape Glovers.