Dorper Sheep
~Low maintenance: They are aggressive grazers with rapid growth and weight gain (can gain up to 1 pound a day on grass alone.)
~Will breed year ‘round (are not seasonal breeders); they are one of the most fertile of sheep breeds.
~Shed their fleeces naturally (do not need shearing).
~Have unique eating habits: Preferring to graze on grass, they will browse (much like goats) depending on the forage available.
~A hardy breed, thriving under conditions where other breeds barely exist, even while raising a lamb. Known to do well outdoors during winter with temperatures down to 0 degrees.
~Calm disposition and naturally gentle - making them easy to work with. A hornless breed (small horns, called “scurs,” may sometimes appear.)
~Dorper ewes are excellent mothers. They can give birth to singles, twins, and triplets; some will even have quads. The majority will lamb all by themselves with absolutely no assistance - ewes just show up with little ones at their sides.
~Dorper Rams are used on many sheep breeds other than Dorper (including both hair and wool breeds.) This “½-blood” offspring, also called “F1,” demonstrate how well these crosses work with their outstanding growth and weight gains. They tend to grow to be much better than their dams - exhibiting hybrid vigor.
~Dorper sheep are so far removed genetically, from any sheep breeds here in North America, that “hybrid vigor” will express itself in the F1 cross.
P.O. Box 66
1540 W. Holloway Rd.
San Simon, AZ 85632
The Dorper breed was developed in South Africa over 60 years ago (as a mutton breed) and its popularity is constantly growing. It is currently the second most popular sheep breed in South Africa. Their origin is from the Dorset Horn and the Persian Blackhead.
Breed Features
