Dorper Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Dorper Sheep is a hardy resilient South African breed of sheep that can withstand various harsh climates, environments and intensive operations.

The ewes produce vigorous, healthy, robust lambs that have a high survivability. The ewes are also heavy milkers with excellent maternal instincts.

They are and alert, docile, easy to handle and keep breed of sheep that are a value to any sheep farm.

DORPER SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Dorper Sheep breed is a breed of sheep that can withstand arid temperatures and do not mind the snow either!
Country of Origin:	South Africa
Other Names:	None
Breed Size:	Medium
Main Purpose:	Meat
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat, **LSC (Landscape Management)
Temperament:	Docile and easy care
Ideal Climate:	Most climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC Status/ Rarity: Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	Novice to Intermediate level of sheep farmer/keeper
Sheep Associations:	American Dorper Sheep Breeders’ Society
Sheep Clubs:	Refer to the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society members/breeders directory.
Note: ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy * LSC stands for Landscape Management – the animal is used for controlling various vegetation growth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Dorper sheep are a medium sized breed with minimal wool on their well-rounded bodies. They have a medium sized face and straight profile. Their face and legs are clean of wool and smooth.

Color(s):

White or white with black heads.

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	72.5 to 99 kgs	102 to 125 kgs
Breed Height:	Unclear – medium sized breed	Unclear – medium sized breed
Hair:	Short light coat of wool and hair that get shed in the summer months	Short light coat of wool and hair that get shed in the summer months
Ears:	Medium length, pointed and stick out to the sides of the head.	Medium length, pointed and stick out to the sides of the head
Horns:	No horns	No horns
Matures at age:	10 weeks/15 months or 15 years	10 weeks to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 12 months	5 to 7 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	See Ewe Breeding & Milking Info.	Cover 5 to 10 Ewes in 1 season

EWE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION
They have a prolonged breeding cycle, are heavy milkers with excellent maternal instincts. They produce vigorous lambs that with high survival rate.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 16 to 59 hours
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days/15 to 20 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 149 to 155 days but most gestation is 152 days
No. Lambs/Litter:	1 and on the rare occasion 2 (twins)
Lactation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 240 day but most are milked for 180 days
Milking From:	4 to 6 weeks after lambing
Milk Quality:	Good, Quantity: Enough to wean lambs, Per: Lactation period
Milk Ideal for:	Lambs
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SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They are used for both lamb and mutton. Their lambs have a high growth rate and reach weights of up to 36 kgs in 3 to 4 months. They have a premium quality of meat with a good meat to bone ratio and low percentage of waste.

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Excellent

SHEEP ⇒	LAMB	HOGGET/MUTTON
Approx. Maturity Weight:	58 kgs	79 kgs
Approx. Maturity Age:

SHEEP SKIN PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Dorper sheep are prized for their skins and are considered to have the best skins in the world for the production of fine leather products. Their skin has a smooth grain to it with no wrinkles. The grain consists of a strong network of collagen fibers which make the skin exceptionally strong. The fibers of the Dorper skin have a tighter, denser but more delicate structure than that of goat skin or other wool sheep. The Dorper skin fibers are flat for the weave angle which strengthens the leather even further.

Skin Production?

Yes, Quality: Fine quality considered the best in the world

Skin is used to Produce:

Kid skin leather products such as fine/high quality gloves and clothes

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Age they Produce from:	3 to 10 months for Kid skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather	3 to 10 months for Kid skin 1 to 2 years old for Normal leather

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE DORPER SHEEP
A few more interesting facts to know about the breed
Child-Friendly?	They are docile and calm, but they are still livestock, so no children should be left unsupervised around them
Landscape Management?	Dorper sheep breed can eat most things and are excellent for improving various land conditions. They have non-selective grazing habits which means that they make the most of any type of grazing or roughage. They can even eat bush that most other sheep cannot.
Where to buy them?	Please refer to the members/breeders directory of the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society
General Information:	Dorper sheep utilize bushes and shrubs to a greater extent for their feed than other sheep breeds such as the Merino-types do. Dorper sheep do not walk as much to select their food as other sheep do to find a suitable spot to graze. Thus, the Dorper sheep breed have less trampling, shorter grazing time and fewer separate grazing periods.

HISTORY

There was an increased interest into creating a new cross of indigenous sheep such as the Persian and Merino with British mutton breed rams. This interest developed in South Africa just after the First World War. Due to the result of surplus mutton, a slump in the wool prices and the depression in the early 1930’s more attention was drawn to exporting lamb and mutton.

The English did not rate fat-tailed ship as a good grade and so they were not desirable sheep breeds.
There was a definite need for a breed that produced good mutton with fast growing lambs with good quality carcasses that could be fed on veld conditions. The prime need was for a breed that was relatively easy to care for, had a good meat carcass and could survive the low rainfall areas such as in the Northern Province.

The Department of Agriculture of South Africa decided to develop the Dorper Sheep breed in the 1930’s. The breed was the result of the crossing of the Blackhead Persian Breed ewes with a Dorset Horn Ram. But due to high prices, mortality and the phase only started in 1941.