Dorper Sheep

Stud Name: Dillidorper Stud

Prefix: Dillidorper

Flock Number: 5

The Dorper is a South African sheep breed and was only recently introduced into Australia. We purchased some of the first embryos which were released for sale in Australia in 1996. These embryos were implanted into some of our stud Wiltshire Horn ewes. We were so impressed with the Dorpers, that we purchased more embryos in 2000 to add to our numbers. White Dorper embryos were also available at that time, so we purchased some of them as well. We wanted to compare the two types of Dorpers under our conditions. We found that the Black Headed Dorper out performed the White Dorper in our conditions. This being the case and our meat buyers didn't seem to mind if the lambs were black or white (they paid more for the bigger animals), we quit our White Dorpers to concentrate upon breeding superior Black Headed Dorpers.

Characteristics which we are currently placing selection pressure upon are:

Long,well muscled body
Good shedding characteristics

Dorper Ram on the move.

Breed History.

The Dorper is a South African Sheep. The Dorper was developed by the South African Dept department Of Agriculture dating back to a breed development program which commenced during the 1930's. Dorset Horn Rams were used over hardy Blackheaded Persian ewes to produce progeny which were hardy, fast growing and well muscelled (meaty). Some within South Africa wanted pure white animals, so the Dorset Horn was crossed with the native Van Roy sheep ( a white sheep) instead of the Blackheaded Persian to obtain white progeny (the White Dorper).

Farmers in South Africa embraced the Dorper Sheep and continued development of the breed. Today it is one of the most popular sheep Breeds in the country. Dorper (Black head) sheep outnumber White Dorper sheep in South Africa.

Australian History.

SAABCO first introduced the breed into Australia in 1996 with the release of Dorper embryos for sale. Wescorp the importer was based in Perth and the majority of the embryos sold went into Western Australia although some were bought by sheep breeders in the other states. It is at this time that we, along with one other Victorian buyer, bought our first Dorper embryos.

Initially Australian farmers displayed lukewarm interest in the Dorper sheep. Their introduction was fairly low key, unlike the Damaras (introduced at the same time), which received full entrepreneurial promotion. Prices for early stock were very high as their numbers were few and it was a costly exercise getting these animals on the ground. At this time also, a lot of more traditional farmers had difficulty getting their mind around the concept of NOT shearing a sheep. Many (including my own father) have said to me, "What is the use of a sheep that you don't shear?" My answer to him and to others has been, "Think of a Dorper as a little cow which produces lamb. You don't shear a cow do you?"

With the fall in wool prices and continued rise in the costs of producing wool, coupled with sustained high prices for lamb, more and more farmers have began to take a serious look at the Dorper sheep. Drought conditions in many areas of Australia have also prompted a great deal of interest in the breed, as the ewes are able to turn off good lambs even in harsh conditions. At present there is a very high level of interest in Dorper sheep all around Australia. Being such an adaptable breed of sheep, interest in them covers the whole spectrum; from people who want to run thousands of sheep, to turn off cost effective lambs into the meat market, to hobby farmers who just want a couple of easy care lawn mowers to keep the grass down on their block.

Breed Characteristics

Adaptable.Dorper Sheep are able to thrive in a wide variety of climatic conditions; from arid to semi tropical areas. They are suited to areas of 100mm - 760mm annual rainfall.
Economical. The concept behind the development of the Dorper Sheep was to develop a sheep that could give the maximum returns with the least inputs. Thus Dorpers have excellent feed utilisation and conversion abilities (ie they do well even on pasture with poor nutritional value where other sheep breeds would not thrive, thus converting a poor asset into profit). They require low levels of maintenance in comparison with most other sheep breeds, as they are a wool shedding sheep and therefore do not require shearing, crutching, mulesing, jetting, nor constant surveillance for fly strike. They are also supposed to be disease resistant.
Good Grazing habits. Dorpers are non selective in their grazing, i.e. they eat everything , weeds and all. Other sheep breeds are highly selective in their grazing habits, preferring and only doing well on clovers and softer grasses. Dorpers like goats, like coarser grasses and woody weeds, and like goats seem to do better if they have roughage in their diet.
Meat Production. Dorper lambs are only small at birth, but make rapid weight gains from the time they begin to eat. They are grazing by day 2 and from that time fill out and grow very quickly. A live weight of 36kg can be reached by 3.5 - 4 months of age. Meat processors like the Dorper and Dorper cross lambs because their carcasses have excellent meat yields and fat distribution.
Fertile. Dorper sheep is one of the most fertile of sheep breeds. It has a long breeding season, which unlike many other sheep breeds is not seasonally limited. It is possible to have lambing intervals of eight months. This coupled with the fact that Multiple births are prevalent,especially after the ewe's first lambing. The ewes are good milk producers and excellent mothers. The lambs are vigourous and stay close to their mothers from the time they are born. Hence weaning rates of 150% and above are not uncommon.
Fast Growing. As the Dorper and Dorper cross lambs grow rapidly they can attain high weaning weights. This in turn means that they are ready for early marketing and therefore less feed and animal health (eg. drenching) and husbandry inputs.
Long Lived. The literature about Dorper sheep out of South Africa tells us that the animals are long lived. The oldest Dorpers in Australia would be about 10 years old. Our original Dorper ewes (9 years old) are still going strong; producing and rearing twin lambs.
Hardy. One of the main aims in developing the Dorper Sheep was hardiness. The engineers of the breed have certainly been successful in this respect. Our experiences have been such that Dorper and Dorper cross sheep have survived experiences that would have made other breeds of sheep curl up their toes and die. They seem to have a very strong will and ability to survive.
Temperament. Dorper Sheep are intelligent and curious so can become very easy to handle with very little training. The rams, unlike some other sheep breeds, are good to work with in the yards (they are unlikely to want to bash you up).