ABOUT DORPERS

DORPERS   The Practical Livestock Production Alternative   Low Maintence - naturally shed wool => no shearing, no crutching => no mulesing, no flystrike   High fertility =>Non-seasonal breeders - 3 lambings in 2 years =>High twinning rate =>Good mothering ability - very protective => High milk producers   Hardiness =Non selective grazers => Ability to thrive in a range of conditions   Easy handling   Excellent weight gain and feed conversion   Excellent conformation with even fat distribution   Good muscling and carcase yield

History

Dorpers were bred in South Africa during the 1930's. The South African Department of Agriculture and a group of progressive farmers decided to develop a new breed of sheep able to produce a maximum number of lambs with good meat qualities, which could be marketed directly off arid and extensive grazing conditions.

Many different crosses were tried, with the most successful being the cross of the Dorset Horn Ram over the Blackheaded Persian Ewe. The Dorper breed is fixed giving a reliable reproduction of selected characteristics.

The first Dorpers arrived in Australia in 1996 and have gained popularity based on their ability to thrive in diverse conditions, their low maintenance requirement and on their performance in carcase competitions.

Due to their adaptability to a large range of conditions Dorpers are becoming a popular breed in a number of countries.

Breed Standard of Excellence

Definition: To distinguish the degree of excellence with a description and score by points on visual appearance and performance. These values must be a true reflection of the animal.

Accredited inspectors grade Dorpers according to the Standard of Excellence. 

Summary of main points of the Breed Standard of Excellence:

* As the scoring indicates, greater importance is placed on production traits - conformation, size and fat distribution, than on  colour and covering.

"Dorpers into the new century" written by South African inspector Dolf Lategan is the Dorper Training Manual. It contains the Breed Standard of Excellence as well as very informative photos and tips on sheep management. "Dorpers into the new century" is available through the Dorper Society. (see Useful Links)

DORPER INFORMATION DAY

The Dorper Society has conducted information days drawing on the expertise and experiences of those who have had involvement with Dorpers.

We attended one such day at Tamworth in 2007. Speakers included Jack Thompson, Plant Manager of Peel Valley Exporters at Tamworth and Jane Rindfleish from the artificial breeding centre Allstock.

DORPERS - "KEGS ON LEGS"   "It's all good and will only get better"   - Jack Thompson, Plant Manager, Peel Valley Exporters, Tamworth NSW      In my opinion Dorpers have a big future in the Australian lamb industry due to the following: Fewer lambing problems due to lighter birthweights. Possess the ability to gain weight rapidly from birth. Top 10% of converters in our feedlot. For every 4.5kg of feedlot mix Dorpers will average an increased 1kg to their live weight as opposed to 5.5kg of mix for 1kg weigh increase in other lamb breeds. Yield better than the average lamb. Do exceptionally well in New England, North West regions and the Western Region where they would be the top breed under drier than normal conditions. Carcasses are observed to have good conformation and shape along with a good fat score when processed at our processing facility.

A handout from Jack Thompson included the following from Michael Clark - Midway Lamb Feedlot Manager:

"Midway Lamb feedlot currently has a pen of Dorpers that are due to finish next week after being fed for the last 49 days. From the time they arrived on Midway these lambs have shown us the potential they have to gain weight.

They came from Inverell, Guyra, Armidale and Tamworth, either direct from farm or through the saleyards. From the very start of their feeding program in the preconditioning yards, the Dorpers really stood out as lambs with character. If their feed was a little slow falling down in the self feeders they would "BUTT" the feeder until there was enough to eat. We knew when it was empty as they would just stand around the feeders and bleat until we refilled them.

Once they were in the feedlot pen they just jumped ahead. They have shown to have huge appetites, eating every grain they are fed, to the point of actually licking the trough clean! Increasing their ration did not reduce this habit, if anything it encouraged them to eat more. Their feed conversion rate is well above other lambs on feed pushing down to below 5:1 where normally the average would be 6:1.

At feeding time the rush for food has seen some intersting results, with lambs actually jumping over one another to get the the feed bunk. I often refer to them as the ideal front rowers for their ability to "ruck", maybe they should be on the Wallaby squad. Some have even leaped over the fence using their mate as a spring board to get out of the pen to get a feed. They are escape artists, acrobats and high jumpers, but each lamb is by its self, full of character. If they are all as good as this pen, then feeding lambs will not only be easy but enjoyable.

All of the workers at Midway have really taken a shining to the Dorpers and at every opportunity they are the first pen of lambs that are shown to visitors. They are easy to manage, they adapt to grain fast and are a hardy and resilient breed."

Last speaker of the day, Jane Rindfleish from Allstock, pointed out there had been much impressive data from studies and measurement of Dorper performance presented, but said Dorpers have something which can't be quantified:

PERSONALITY!  PERSONALITY!  PERSONALITY!