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Information sheets   |   Elsenburg infopaks   |   Animals, species: 2

Dorpers Afrikaans | Xhosa

Click to enlarge!		 During the early thirties, there was a surplus of mutton in South Africa. Because of the dropping of the wool price during the recession, sheep farmers were forced to develop the export market for mutton. The fat-tailed types that represented the largest number of mutton sheep in South Africa were unknown on the European market and received poor ratings because of the carcass-grading systems.

To produce more acceptable carcasses, crossbreeding experiments were begun. British mutton breeds were crossbred with indigenous races such as the Afrikaner and blackhead Persian. The most important characteristics for which breeders selected were:

  • a good meat carcass with even fat distribution
  • quick-growing lambs that are marketable when on veld grazing, from weaning age
  • hardiness, so that the sheep can adapt to cold and rain as well as extremely high summer temperatures
  • pasture-roving sheep for good utilisation of hardy grasses and shrubveld
  • resistance to disease and requiring little care
  • the ability to maintain a high level of production.

Click to enlarge!		 Cross-breeding of British Dorsethorn rams and blackhead Persian ewes resulted in the achievement of these characteristics. This led to the development of a new breed which, since 1950, has been known as the Dorper.

The Dorper represents the mutton breed consisting of the largest number of animals in South Africa today. The excellent adaptability of the breed enables it to flourish in every province of the country. However, the breed is eminently suited to especially the drier regions for which it was originally bred, and where very few other types of farming are economically viable.

Click to enlarge!		 The profitability of mutton farming is determined by the quantity of meat that is produced at the lowest possible cost. In addition to the characteristics for which the sheep was originally bred, the Dorper must exhibit the physical characteristics, which enable it to raise the greatest possible number of lambs with the highest possible growth rate. This determines the quantity of mutton that can be sold.

Click to enlarge!		 The Dorper can be described as a well-built mutton-sheep race of which the mature rams have a live mass of 100 to 120 kg, and the ewes, one of 75 to 85 kg. The breed can be mated at any time of the year. Because of the high fertility rate, lambing percentages of 120 can be achieved with good nutrition and management.

Lambs are slaughtered from the age of three-and-a-half to four months when a live mass of 36 kg is reached, and a carcass of 15 kg or more is produced, with good conformation and distribution of fat.

Click to enlarge!		 The ideal Dorper must manifest the following physical characteristics:

Conformation: Head and neck - A long head with a strong, broad neck. The neck must be of medium length. Sheep, of which the lower jaw is too long or too short, must be culled. The upper jaw and lower teeth must be correctly aligned.

Click to enlarge!		 Body - A broad breast that does not stick out too far. There must be enough space for the lungs to enable the sheep to walk long distances. The body must be long and deep, with a good spring of ribs. It contains organs such as the rumen or paunch where the ingested plant matter must be processed into nutrients for the body. The rump must be broad and straight so that births problems can be avoided. The thighs must show good muscle development on both the outside and the inside. Seen from the top and from the side, the body must be wedge-shaped, with the broad part to the back. The legs must be well placed, and have a good length and sturdy joints, so that the animal will have no trouble roaming over long distances in search of food.

Cull sheep that are pinched in the heart girth, are lanky, have a sloping rump, weak hocks, slack pasterns and swaybacks.

Click to enlarge!		 Size: A good balance between length, height and depth in relation to the animal's mass and age.

Fat distribution: Fat must be distributed evenly over the body. It is undesirable to have fat concentrated at specific places on the animal's body, for example the rump.

Colour: Black and white Dorper sheep differ only with respect to colour. White Dorpers have white wool and a white hair covering, with pigment preferably on the bare parts. The same applies to Black Dorpers, but black patches may occur on the head and forequarters.

Hair covering: The ideal is a mixture of short hair and wool, mainly on the forequarters. A long mane is undesirable.

Click to enlarge!		 When ewes and rams are selected or purchased, it is important to note the following:
  • Ewes must have two well-formed teats without any deformities and udders without hard lumps.
  • Preferably buy obviously gravid ewes or ewes with lambs. Be wary of buying ewes that show udder, but may have recently weaned their lambs.

Click to enlarge!
  • Rams must have well-formed testicles and a scrotum with a diameter of at least 36cm. The testicles must be of medium length and firm to the touch - neither too hard nor too soft.

The custom of leaving the rams permanently with the ewes is not recommended. Mating and lambing seasons must be planned in accordance with the nutritional needs of the animals and the availability of feed. In the summer rainfall regions, with autumn as the main rainy season, when the available feed allows only one lambing season per year, late spring/early summer is the best mating season. The lambs are born in autumn or early winter and the veld usually shows good, green shrub growth. Nutritional conditions are usually more favourable at this time when the nutritional requirements of the ewes are greater, as also during late pregnancy and lactation. The lambs also grow better during the cooler months. Skip ewes can lamb in spring. During the hot summer months, lambs grow more slowly.

A fixed lambing season, in addition to the provision of food, has the following advantages:

  • Ewes that do not lamb, are easier to identify.
  • Ewes that have little milk, can be recognised by their weak lambs.
  • Management programmes such as inoculation can be carried out to the letter.

Profitable long-term mutton-sheep farming on mainly extensive natural pasture, as in the case of the Dorper, requires expert veld management.

Click to enlarge!		 Dorpers eat less selectively than woolled sheep do. Therefore Dorpers eat more unpalatable plants and, as a result, the livestock density is easily exceeded. The livestock density should therefore be adapted to the long-term carrying capacity of the veld. In practice, this means that it is better to raise more lambs over a shorter period of time than it is to keep more ewes. The value of this policy is apparent especially during times of drought. Limit the livestock to a number that will allow for a part of the available pasturage to be set aside to rest for a growth season or longer, so that seedlings can be established. The seedlings that are established are usually an indication of the condition of the veld and the farmer's veld-management skills.

TS Brand & BB Aucamp
ELSENBURG / Research