WHY WHITE ?

• Save time, money & sweat – no shearing, crutching, or dagging

• Shed fleece readily – genetics available for very high shedding

• High fertility – multiple births and excellent mothering

• Fast growing, early weaning

• Early maturing – commonly mate ewes at 9 months

• With no set oestrus period, can lamb every 8 months

• Or if you like you can run the ram with the ewes continuously

• Replace with meat - multiple lambings means more return

• Very good carcass traits with the meat highly regarded

• Minimal fly strike or lice

• Genetics available for good worm resistance

• Very tough - can withstand all sorts of rough weather

• Both strong maternal and excellent terminal traits in the one breed

• White fleece means no colour contamination

 LUMANI WHITE DORPERS mob:0429087172 email: [email protected] JREYMOND & JM WILSON ABN 12 321 308 097

FURTHER INFORMATION

The information below has been developed by Lumani White Dorpers, but has been partly sourced from the website of the Society of (DSSA), of which Lumani White Dorpers is a member. See http://www.dorper.com.au/

Attributes

Conformation The animal characteristically has a long, well-muscled, barrel shaped body with a broad rump. There is short white hair on the head and a short, loose light covering of hair and wool (wool predominating on the forequarter) and a natural clean underline. An even distribution of a thin layer of fat compliments the breed. The Dorper sheds its fleece avoiding the need for mustering for shearing, crutching and fly control.

Production Characteristics

Economical & Easycare Dorpers are an economical breed because of their excellent feed utilisation and conversion, they don't need shearing, crutching and mulesing, and they are disease resistant.

Fast growing Dorper Lambs grow very fast and can attain a high weaning weight, both because of excellent mothering and also an ability to graze at an early age. They are ideal for the prime lamb market. Dorpers respond well to increased planes of nutrition, giving growers the potential to increase weights rapidly in response to market demands.

Great meat producers Purebred Dorper rams reach a liveweight of 90-120 kg and ewes 50-80kg. The Dorper carcass has a good conformation, muscling, and fat distribution and is very highly regarded in the trade. Trials and producer experience in Australia indicate that it is possible to breed Dorper- F1 lambs with a bodyweight of 36kg at 105-120 days, to produce a carcass of about 16kg.

Adaptable The Dorper is well adapted to a variety of climatic and conditions. It thrives in arid to semi-tropical areas and 100mm-760mm rainfall, tolerates extreme heat, but is also known to grow well in cold mountainous areas.

Hardy The Dorpers have the ability to thrive in harsh conditions. They were developed to be turned off quickly from arid, extensive grazing conditions in South Africa and have the potential to be produced successfully in a wide range of climatic conditions in Australia.

Good grazers and feed converters Dorpers can adapt to most grazing conditions. Fullblood lambs will start to graze in the first few days after birth. The Dorper can be advantageously incorporated into under-utilized pastures of lesser quality, thus converting a poor asset into profit. If supplementary feeding is required they also respond well to quality hay and supplements such as lupin grain and commercial pellets.

 LUMANI WHITE DORPERS mob:0429087172 email: [email protected] JREYMOND & JM WILSON ABN 12 321 308 097

Fertile The Dorper is one of the most fertile of the sheep breeds, with potential lambing intervals of only 8 months. Lambing percentages in excess of 150% (2.25 lambs per annum) are possible and 100% is feasible for most areas. Short lambing intervals have various advantages, of which greater selection possibilities and the sale of larger numbers of lambs are the most important.

Good mothering qualities The Dorper ewe is a very good mother and protective of her young. Multiple births are common. Lambs are extremely mobile at birth and survival rates are high. The Dorper ewe produces a large quantity of milk, aiding lamb survival and early growth.

Continuous breeding season The Dorper is polyoestrus (can breed continually, with no defined season). Their breeding intervals can be as short as 8 months or 3 times in 2 years. Running rams with ewes continuously is one option that may stimulate reproduction, however it is also likely that ewes will adjust their fertility according to conditions.

Market Potential Dorpers are suitable for a wide range of markets: • Domestic and international sale of prime lamb meat • Export of live ram lambs, eg to the Middle East • Domestic and international sale of by-products, principally skins. • Fast growth rates allow for early marketing, to help fill supply shortfalls.

 LUMANI WHITE DORPERS mob:0429087172 email: [email protected] JREYMOND & JM WILSON ABN 12 321 308 097

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY OF DORPERS AND WHITE DORPERS

The breed was introduced into Australia from South Africa in 1996 with the release of Dorper embryos for sale. In the early years the Dorpers and other new African breeds received a little opposition, but once the Australian industry understood the benefits the Dorper and White Dorper could contribute to their lamb enterprise there was spirited demand for the breed. The natural productivity of the Dorper in our environment has seen rapid uptake of the breed in the lamb industry. The growth and excellent muscularity of the breed combined with its maternal attributes and management ease has contributed to the breed being one of the fastest growing sheep breeds in Australia.

Australian breeders have imported further genetic lines from South Africa and Namibia. As in other livestock breeds our members have used these imports to develop the Australian Dorper and White Dorper to a standard where our genetics are sought after world wide. A recent sale of an Australian White Dorper ram "Terraweena Loftus" to Brazil for $45,000 highlights this demand.

The development of the Dorper breed in low to medium rainfall areas of South Africa has assisted in the adaption of the Dorper and White Dorper breeds in the Australian environment. With rising production costs and labour shortages in the Australian Rural Industry the Dorper and White Dorper has a valuable role in the Australian sheep industry.

Dorper Origins The Dorper Sheep breed was bred out of sheer necessity. In the 1930’s South Africans were looking for a hardy breed that could take on anything from arid drought stricken landscapes, to lush green pastures - with a higher quality carcase weight. The Dorper breed originated from the crossing of the Blackhead Persian sheep, a hardy desert breed, with the Dorset Horned Ram which had rapid growth and high quality meat. The above qualities are what make the Dorper Breed what it is today. As from the 1940’s the Dorper sheep had made its mark in the South African Agricultural Industry, with its popularity rapidly growing, building a name for itself as a high quality meat producer, with excellent mothering and rapid growth qualities. Note that White and Black Dorpers are just breed variations. There is no difference between blackheaded and whiteheaded Dorpers in performance - the White Dorper is just lacking the black head; the choice is a matter of target market preference.

 LUMANI WHITE DORPERS mob:0429087172 email: [email protected] JREYMOND & JM WILSON ABN 12 321 308 097