Dorpers are the second most popular sheep breed in South Africa. The wool shedding low maintenance animal has desirable breeding habits, feed utilisation and growth.
Developed by the SA Department of Agriculture in the 1930's by cross breeding the Dorset Horn with Blackheaded Persians. They were selectively bred to exhibit meat qualities such as low fat, fine grain, good flavour, minimum aroma and a high meat to bone carcass. Adaptability, hardiness, and good reproduction rates and fertility were priorities, with potential lambing intervals of only eight months with possible percentages in excess of 150% recorded overseas. It's non-selective grazing habit and good feed utilisation, with a propensity to produce small vigorous lambs at birth, with a rapid growth rate achieving a high weaning weight and early market weights has added to the popularity.
Australia began importing them in 1996, and now New Zealand is catching on with numbers building over the past two years, and more evidence of suitability to New Zealand conditions are gradually becoming apparent. The first stage of a killing trial to assess the merits of the Dorper breed was carried out in December last year at the Alliance Group's Mataura plant. A line of White Dorper, Black Dorper, Suftex and Romney cross lambs was killed at an average weight of 31kg at 85 days old. The Dorpers were on average 1kg heavier deadweight than the other breeds at 15.6kg.
These barrel shaped, short haired, terminal sire animals are performing as well as expected and are now being crossed with other four legged immigrants, the Dutch Texel breed.
The small family business Tasman Bay Dorpers have been one of the first in the Nelson region to accept the challenge and potential rewards, the new crossbreeds could offer commercial and lifestyle farmers.
Last season they purchased 50 Texel ewes from a Texel stud in Oamaru and artificially inseminated them with semen from Australian champion White Dorper, Axis Spargo, a ram imported by Xcell Breeding Services Ltd, Kaiapoi. Returning a lambing percentage of 114% with 28 ewe and 25 ram first cross lambs, which at 20 weeks ranged from 46-50kgs.
Last week they took the next logical step, attending the Pyne Guild Guinness Dorper auction at Insignia Park, Christchurch and secured the stud ram Kaya Pakira from Meat Masters Dorpers. Included in the sale were semen straws, which were on sold at the auction after the purchase.
Andrew Nettleton will farm the new ram and stock on a property near Richmond, while brother Steve Nettleton advises with technical aspects. Steve lives and works in Canterbury as a stockman, as well as performing casual stockwork for Xcell, and work with Jim McFee of Islington and Templeton Vet Club.
"I see a huge future for them, partly because of the labour shortage at the moment of shepherds. I see them as a way of keeping labour costs down," Steve said. "They require minimal drenching and our lambs in Nelson have had no dags or flystrike this year."
Both Steve and Andrew described the Christchurch sale as very strong, attracting buyers and sellers countrywide with prices ranging from $2,500 to the top price paid for a ram of $7,500.
"They are a great sheep - the rams are very very quiet, the ewes slightly more on edge," he said. "The wool is classed a DX grade and used in mattress lining and housing insulation, and the pelt is very thick, and the marbled texture of the meat, similar to Angus cattle is getting a $2/kg premium in the supermarket."
A Dorper breed society was formed at the Christchurch sale, with a current committee of six members. A contact for those interested in the breed and society is Bill Lott at Sunnyvale Station, www.sunnyvale.co.nz .
