Dorper sheep

[pgkane]

Anyone got any experience of dorpers as seem like they might make a good woolshedding
Terminal sire, only heard that feet need trimming a lot because they were bred in South Africa, is this true?

 

[JP1]

@Tim W May be able to help you

 

[Tim W]

I can give you my limited experience

Good at growth off grass (tendency to fat at larger weights)
Poor wool shedders---nowhere near as good as Wiltshires/Barbados Black Belly or Katahdins
Terrible feet ---in the years after using them if I saw a lame sheep I would bet high stakes that it was a Dorper descendant

personally I would avoid them unless you like running sheep therough a footbath
In a arid situation (SA) I am sure they are great although even then I would be tempted to look at Meatmasters or Damara crosses

 

[andybk]

I can give you my limited experience

Good at growth off grass (tendency to fat at larger weights)
Poor wool shedders---nowhere near as good as Wiltshires/Barbados Black Belly or Katahdins
Terrible feet ---in the years after using them if I saw a lame sheep I would bet high stakes that it was a Dorper descendant

personally I would avoid them unless you like running sheep therough a footbath
In a arid situation (SA) I am sure they are great although even then I would be tempted to look at Meatmasters or Damara crosses

agreed , have been told by an importer that the strain in use in the uk has awful feet and these are just being multiplied , iirc ,one person (maybe more )imported others with good feet sepertate strain maybe different country of origin ? , but i think it upset the UK society and they refused to recognize the pedigrees , either way very short sighted if true , the ones i have seen have been useful looking sheep from importer ,

 

[Tim W]

I have seen them in UK, Germany & Netherlands and they have all been bad on their feet
It is mainly because the hoof grows so quickly that the foot gets misshapen and then infection/lameness sets in

A coach load of American sheep farmers visited this year and they gave the same reports

 

[andybk]

I have seen them in UK, Germany & Netherlands and they have all been bad on their feet
It is mainly because the hoof grows so quickly that the foot gets misshapen and then infection/lameness sets in

A coach load of American sheep farmers visited this year and they gave the same reports

will bow to your superior knowledge Tim , lol .

 

[GTB]

Agree with all above plus take note they will breed out of season like a Dorset so don't leave any uncut ram lambs in with the ewes/ewe lambs.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Paddington]

Talking to someone who was showing them at the Royal Welsh a few years ago, there was a theory they were Bluetongue resistant. Whatever happened to Bluetongue in the UK?

 

[GTB]

Talking to someone who was showing them at the Royal Welsh a few years ago, there was a theory they were Bluetongue resistant. Whatever happened to Bluetongue in the UK?

rubbish !

 

[Tim W]

But a wool shedding terminal sire is an interesting idea?
If you use a Tex/Suf/Char or other woolly terminal sire on your wool shedding ewes the lambs will carry some wool---they may be clean bellied and clean around the bum but is there merit in a good wool shedding terminal sire?

I would say not at the expense of the superior growth rates etc available in the woolly terminal sires we have on offer at the moment?

 

[Tim W]

rubbish !

You beat me to it by seconds

 

[GTB]

There is definitely a market for a woolshedding terminal sire. I've heard rumours about a type of Texel called peelers but have never tracked any down.

 

[Tim W]

There is definitely a market for a woolshedding terminal sire. I've heard rumours about a type of Texel called peelers but have never tracked any down.

About 8 years ago I saw a flock of shedders in Netherlands that had lots of Texel in them, they seemed to do the job---but when I went back to look for stock a couple of years later the guy had sold up and become a EMP

 

[Sandpit Farm]

But a wool shedding terminal sire is an interesting idea?
If you use a Tex/Suf/Char or other woolly terminal sire on your wool shedding ewes the lambs will carry some wool---they may be clean bellied and clean around the bum but is there merit in a good wool shedding terminal sire?

I would say not at the expense of the superior growth rates etc available in the woolly terminal sires we have on offer at the moment?

I can't see the relative merit in concentrating on wool shedding in terminal sires. You would always lose something that would be more important. I would prefer to concentrate on true terminal traits. Shearing half a dozen sheep each year is not the end of the world.

Maybe wool shedding is of more use in maternal sires though!

 

[andybk]

There is definitely a market for a woolshedding terminal sire. I've heard rumours about a type of Texel called peelers but have never tracked any down.

yea a saw some at carlisle , made me laugh , Charollais got hammered by the same texel breeders for peeling rams in the 90s even though many of them carried a lot of meat compared to the big shaggy ones about at the time .

 

[Woolless]

But a wool shedding terminal sire is an interesting idea?
If you use a Tex/Suf/Char or other woolly terminal sire on your wool shedding ewes the lambs will carry some wool---they may be clean bellied and clean around the bum but is there merit in a good wool shedding terminal sire?

I would say not at the expense of the superior growth rates etc available in the woolly terminal sires we have on offer at the moment?

I have stumbled upon the Myomax gene in my Easycares and I am aggressively selecting one family for it. Some other breeders are doing the same. This certainly does help the conformation of lambs. The jury is out on the effect on growth rate for me.

Joe (Josh?) Adams of Park Farm, Northampton has bred a Dorper/Beltex/Wiltshire composite and has more recently used Easycare tups. His sheep certainly look the part and are the closest thing I've seen to a woolshedding terminal sire. Took a leg in one of his tups my neighbour bought, so we'll see.

 

[Woolless]

About 8 years ago I saw a flock of shedders in Netherlands that had lots of Texel in them, they seemed to do the job---but when I went back to look for stock a couple of years later the guy had sold up and become a EMP

Or you could use a recorded Wiltshire, like man in this article, and keep the wool out of the equation that way.

http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/03/02/2014/143117/boost-sheep-output-by-performance-recording.htm

What do you reckon TimW?

 

[pgkane]

I have stumbled upon the Myomax gene in my Easycares and I am aggressively selecting one family for it. Some other breeders are doing the same. This certainly does help the conformation of lambs. The jury is out on the effect on growth rate for me.

Joe (Josh?) Adams of Park Farm, Northampton has bred a Dorper/Beltex/Wiltshire composite and has more recently used Easycare tups. His sheep certainly look the part and are the closest thing I've seen to a woolshedding terminal sire. Took a leg in one of his tups my neighbour bought, so we'll see.

Tried a half easycare off of him and didnt get on with it that well, lambs grew well but not as well as out other tups we have used, and not as well as our pure lleyns and lleyn x easycare, also tup went lamb with foot infection so worried us that it may breed that in, so have only kept a few ewe lambs to try, but a couple have gone lame, when we never really touch a sheeps foot.

 

[pgkane]

I can give you my limited experience

Good at growth off grass (tendency to fat at larger weights)
Poor wool shedders---nowhere near as good as Wiltshires/Barbados Black Belly or Katahdins
Terrible feet ---in the years after using them if I saw a lame sheep I would bet high stakes that it was a Dorper descendant

personally I would avoid them unless you like running sheep therough a footbath
In a arid situation (SA) I am sure they are great although even then I would be tempted to look at Meatmasters or Damara crosses

So a no to dorpers then, think we will stick to the Hampshire.

 

[Tim W]

Or you could use a recorded Wiltshire, like man in this article, and keep the wool out of the equation that way.

http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/03/02/2014/143117/boost-sheep-output-by-performance-recording.htm

What do you reckon TimW?

Campbell does a good job---not sure of the merits of a wilts as a terminal sire although they used to be the choice tup for ewe lambs ---although they have certainly come a long way since we started recording them 20 years ago