employ : Dorper sheep are a large , fearless meat sheep breed from South Africa . They do one matter , and they do it well .
History : In the early thirties , kernel - sheep raiser in South Africa set out to produce a mutton strain that did n’t require shearing and could produce eminent - quality , fast - growing Charles Lamb under harsh conditions . To do so , they crossed British Dorset Horn rams with fat - tailed Blackhead Persian hair - sheep Ewe , the former because of its power to breed out of season and the latter for its supreme estrus - hardiness and its woollen - less hair pelage . The resulting sheep were pluck for productiveness and colour . The end result was a black - headed white-hot sheep they called a Dorper ( “ Dor ” for their Dorset Horn forefather , “ per ” for their Persian Blackface dam ) . Other breeder make an all - white version they call the White Dorper .
Twenty - eight farmers and 11 officials formed the South African Dorper Breeders Society in 1950 . Dorper sheep and White Dorper sheep were ( and uphold to be ) registered in separate good deal books , but they ’re scored on the same set of characteristics . The first National Dorper Show was held in Hopetown , South Africa , in 1955 . It ’s since grow to be one of the biggest modest - pedigree shows in the world , with more than 1,000 sheep vie for annual prizes .
In the mid-1990s , American and Canadian sheep rancher became interested in Dorper sheep , but because the USDA does n’t have an import communications protocol for South Africa , Dorpers had to get along to North America as embryos processed through the Canadian importation scheme . The first purebred Dorper lambs were born in the U.S. in 1995 . Dorper sheep are now the fastest maturate sheep breed in North America . Significant populations live in South America , Mexico , Australia and New Zealand , as well .
Conformation : Dorper sheep are large , broad , muscular sheep . Rams cast in weight unit from 230 to 275 British pound sterling , while ewes are smaller at 155 to 210 pound . Both sexes are polled . They arise light , protective body fleeces during the winter months and shed or mostly shed them the survey summertime . ( They shed from the bottom up , and some Dorper stock breeder fleece their animals ’ backs to keep their sheep neater await . ) Dorper sheep have fuzz on their tailcoat alternatively of wool , so some Dorper breeders leave their tails long instead of docking them as lamb .
Special Considerations / Notes : Dorper sheep are the idealistic , easy - care kernel sheep . They ’re both heating plant and cold stalwart , they eat thicket and weeds as well as grass , and ewes are protective mother that do n’t take crutching ( snip the fleece around their bag and backsides ) prior to lambing . Dorpers ordinarily present twins , and lambs are bear big and vigorous , weighing 7 to 11 pound . Ewes give lots of milk , and lambs set about eating self-colored food at an early age , producing a muscular , lean , roughly 80 - pounding carcass at 12 to 14 weeks .
Dorper sheep are sensitive , easy work sheep . Some feel the White Dorper is slimly more docile than its Joseph Black - headed kin .
Two categories exist for Dorpers and White Dorpers in the American flock book . Only animals of 100 - pct South African procreation are full bloods . Full bloods and purebred are registered in disjoined flock books . Purebreds never achieve full - blood status .
