Dorper sheep breed: description and characteristics, content features

The breed of Dorper sheep is famous for its numerous advantages, including unpretentiousness in care and maintenance, fast growth, good productivity, high quality meat and skin. Wool cannot be obtained from these sheep, since the breed does not have it at all. But even despite their high cost, Dorper sheep have become widespread among farmers.

Origin

This breed was bred in the thirties of the XX century, and the homeland of the Dorper is South Africa. The variety was obtained by crossing Dorset and Persian sheep, each of which is characterized by unpretentiousness in maintenance and good productivity.The representatives of the Dorper adopted fertility from the Dorsets. The breed owes its lack of wool and non-standard color to Persian ancestors. At first, the breed was distributed in Australia, and then was brought to the USA and Great Britain. And only after a while the dorper appeared in Russia.

The breed was officially registered in 1930. The name "Dorper" was not obtained by chance: the word is formed from parts of two names - Dorset and Persian (ancestors of the Dorpers).

Exterior and characteristics

Meat breeds are different:

1. Strong physique. Animals have a knocked down, elongated body. The hips and back are especially well developed.
2. Almost complete absence of wool. The available hair is very sparse, coarse, short, there is an undercoat. Wool is unevenly distributed - most of it covers the chest, neck, back. The abdomen is almost bare. Hair may curl on the forehead.
3. White or light gray color. Skin color is white (on the legs, neck, torso). Black areas cover the neck and head.
4. Short, bare limbs.
5. The lack of horns in females. Males have very small horns (2-3 cm high), and in most cases they do not grow at all.

Lambs have similar physical characteristics to adults, except for body size.

The Dorper breed has two varieties:

• white (there are no dark areas on the body);
• black-headed (black head and neck).

Dorper crossbreeds with other breeds are popular. The Romanov breed most often takes part in the selection, and as a result of crossing, a hybrid with good qualities is obtained.

Representatives of the breed live long enough - more than 15 years, but it is not economically profitable to keep animals older than 5-8 years.

Pros and Cons of Dorpers

The high cost of Dorper sheep is justified by a number of positive qualities.

Pros and consFertility. Reproduction is easy and fast. One female gives birth to 2-5 lambs per birth. The process of birth is easy, so the participation and help of a person is not required. Readiness for breeding in sheep occurs at 8 months.Rapid growth of lambs.Disease resistance. In particular to parasites (both internal and external).Rapid weight gain. Adult rams weigh about 100 kilograms (and more), and sheep - 60-70 kilograms each.Unpretentiousness. Animals do not need high quality food.Dietary meat obtained in the amount of 60 kg from a well-fed ram. The advantage of the product is the even distribution of fat. For comparison, ordinary lamb includes thick layers of fat that emit a specific smell. Also, the product is devoid of a characteristic aftertaste.Leather. Due to the uniform structure, it is easy to dress.High mobility. Animals often climb high places: haylofts, upper floors, boxes - and often fall from them.Lack of wool. Sources of income are only meat and skins.

The bareness of the breed can also be perceived as a virtue - there is no need to spend resources on shearing sheep. In addition, dorpers are less susceptible to attack by external parasites.

Content requirements

The breed is unpretentious, therefore, special conditions and requirements for maintenance do not need to be observed. Animals do well both in hot climates and in cooler regions. Dorpers are able to withstand even very low temperatures. Animals are also unpretentious about the diet - the most common grass is a sufficient source of food for them. However, this fact does not mean at all that sheep are kept exclusively on pasture. By improving the quality of food, the resulting product will be much better.

Ease of animal care applies not only to adults, but also to cubs. Lambs, including newborns, do not need careful care.

Dorper representatives have the ability to adapt to any conditions in which they live. This is one of the reasons why farmers dream of breeding just such sheep.

Feeding and care

Special nutrition for these animals is not required - dorpers can be kept on pasture. Even under such conditions, animals quickly gain weight. And yet, to improve the quality of the product, it is recommended to diversify food and include it in the diet:

• clover;
• alfalfa;
• nettle;
• burdock;
• thistle;
• grain (due to the calorie content, such food is given only to pregnant and lactating females, as well as young animals during intensive growth);
• hay (used as a substitute for fresh grass);
• compound feed (used for feeding sheep during pregnancy and lactation, and also given to animals a few days before being sent for slaughter);
• s alt and minerals (special top dressing);
• root crops (used in summer as top dressing, in winter they are part of the diet);
• water (should be in the public domain, normally one adult has 6 to 8 liters of water per day).

Most of the time Dorper spend on pasture or in spacious enclosures. It is desirable that the fence be dismantled, which would allow it to be moved to another site when the grass runs out on the former one.

In the cold season, sheep are kept in sheepfolds. Room Requirements:

• normal lighting;
• no drafts;
• free space (the area per animal in a group stall is 1.5 square meters, in an individual stall - at least 2.5, for a female with one lamb - 3.2, and for each subsequent space is increased by 0, 7);
• availability of ventilation, heating.

Food and water are in long troughs.

Features of reproduction

Representatives of the breed reach puberty early. Readiness for breeding in females occurs at 8 months, in males - at 5. However, it is recommended to start breeding sheep when they reach 1.5 years. Males are very prolific and are able to inseminate up to 100 sheep at a time. To improve the quality of seed material, it is desirable to maintain the same ratio - one male to 15-20 females.

Births can be repeated every 8 months, and at the same time they are not tied to a specific season. Gestation lasts 4-5 months.

Frequent diseases and their prevention

Representatives of the Dorper breed are resistant to diseases, however, if the general conditions of detention are not observed, the risk of such problems increases:

• brucellosis;
• pox;
• foot and mouth disease;
• infectious mastitis;
• hoof rot;
• fractures and dislocations of limbs.

In order to prevent diseases, the following measures are taken:

• regular stall cleaning;
• routine vaccination;
• compliance with the quarantine for which new animals are sent (lasts 2 weeks);
• deworming in autumn and spring.

Dorpers in Russia

In Russia, this breed is almost never found in its pure form. And the reason is not at all in the climate - dorpers would have taken root perfectly in the middle lane. The determining factor is that it is unprofitable to keep sheep of this breed. For this reason, Dorper seed material is imported into the country and with its help they fertilize females of local breeds (most often Romanov).

The resulting hybrids are inferior in quality to the original, but, in general, the result is satisfactory. Dorper is a popular meat breed, which is characterized by unpretentiousness, fertility, good productivity. Despite the high cost and lack of wool, these sheep are able to bring a good income to farmers.

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