Dolf Lategan's Dorper Sheep Page

Judges look at more than one hundred different traits in deciding between the best of the best.

I hope this gallery will be your strongest motivation for doing a Course on the Dorper Breed. The more we learn, the more we realise how small we are and how little we know...

To get an idea of what to expect of my 88 page book and CD-ROM with a recordkeeping program, scroll through the following.

General Dorper Breeding

• You must have a plan
• Manager of a factory
• Love of the breed
• Participate

The formula that I propose is contained in three letters...

K - O - S ! (The Afrikaans word for "FOOD")

• K for Knowledge
• O for Organisation
• S for Selection

The basis of the Dorper breed was a Persian ewe (above)
and a Dorset Horn ram (below).

From the Persian and a Dorset Horn lines were born and developed the Dorper (black head) (above) and the White Dorper (below).

Many good things come form this. Shedding the covering
(as in the photo below) was one of them.

Beauty was another advantage of the Dorper breed.

Besides physical beauty, the outstanding characteristics of the Dorper was the beauty of the economical side.

The following is an abstract from the CD-ROM:

Outstanding Characteristics of the Dorper

We have talked about these characteristics under selection. We don't have to wonder how to get this as it was bred into the breed over the past 60 years. What we must be careful of is not too breed it out or select it out. So when you do your selection keep the following in mind:

Lamb (Mutton) Reproduction: we must select for meat qualities but also for high production rate (twins or better) and very important fertility, no passengers. We must look at weight gain and carcass quality. Do you remember all the notes we have discussed?

Take note that the Ram is with the ewes already at
three months, before weaning.

Adaptability: this is measured by how the animal flourishes under extensive conditions - do you remember our discussion on the period from weaning up to 6 to 9-months? The ewe should keep a reasonable condition while raising her lamb to be ready for the next mating cycle. Be fair however to your animals under drought and bad grazing conditions and if an ewe has to feed twin or multiple lambs etc. Let nature help you on this very important aspect.

Hardiness: the Dorper was bred to adapt and flourish under different conditions. From the worst draught to the coldest and wettest condition. Under these conditions the animal must be able to survive and resist health hazards and diseases. Select for this, we don't want a veterinarian to be on site permanently. Nature made the sheep adaptable, so you can select for hardiness. Why do some animals under the same conditions on the same farm not make it and others just flourish?

Veld utilisation: the Dorper is outstanding in this respect and would just about eat anything. There is a belief that the Dorper tramples the veld (pasture) but it is not true. The farmer's management damages the veld. Be sure that your carrying capacity (heads on the veld from camp to camp) is correct for your veld growth and quality conditions. They also say that the Dorper is a fence crawler. This may be true if your management of fencing is not up to standard. The Dorper will survive come high or low!

Good mothering qualities: we have talked about this and it is a very good characteristic of the Dorper. When the ewes are left alone they will lamb easily, and will retain and look after their lambs. Give them enough space with good grazing; clean water etc. and they will give you a good return on your investment. The Dorper do not easily throw their lambs away even if you work with them soon after lambing. You can be sure that if a Dorper throws their lamb away, and it is not a genetic trend, that something serious has happened. The mortality rate in the Dorper is very low.

Dorpers are lovable animals: the appearance of the animals appeal to many people, and it is easy to care for something that pleases the eye. As you can see form the pictures, the animals are a pleasure to work with and on top of that, they are adored by children of all ages, all over the world!

In my book and CD I explain the breed standard of excellence in a new way. Over 250 pictures and sketches were used to explain it. Here are some examples of what you will find in the book and on the CD-ROM. The training gallery includes the following, additional to the breed standard of excellence:

- The Head
- Forequarter
- Barrel
- Shape of the Dorper
- Hindquarter

- Reproduction
- Pigmentation
- Type
- Colour
- Covering

- Steroids
- Health
- Upgrading
- General
- Some Champions

Below are 6 of the 21 examples of the head.

The Head
HD01		Off-type head What a good example of an off-type head. Head too short, dulap, no character, no crown, doesn't fit in our triangle and overall a dull type-cull it!
HD06		Roman nose A strong roman nose with good eye protection, beautiful secondary development, good crown and good size ears.
HD08		Ennobled head A good example of an ennobled ewe head with good character. Desirable ears strong mouth, roman nose and this head will fit nicely into our triangle.
HD13		Feminine head Look at the soft appearance of this ewe with good ears to accommodate type.
HD18		Off-type This ram was culled at an auction because of this Persian type head. Usually this type of head has a shiny covering too.
HD21		Undershot Jaw Here you can see a difference of more than 3mm between the bottom and upper jaws. Up to 3mm is the maximum permissible gap.

Here are 6 of the 15 examples of colour pattern on the Dorper.

Colour
CP01		P2 in colour pattern When colour go beyond the shoulder it becomes a P2 and not good for stud.
CP03		Colour on the white Doper A patch of 10cm is allowed on the white Dorper head, to still qualify for stud but no further colour, or collectively a patch of colour on the head and underline will be allowed.
CP04		Through blaze A through blaze where the black is divided in two is a P2 and cannot be studded.
CP09		Black forequarter A black head, neck and breast like this will be a P3 and qualifies for stud.
CP12		Feminine head The same head from the side. Long and strong with the blaze going over the crown (past the horn-base), which makes it a P3.
CP14		Colour on the face If this was the only white on an otherwise black head it will be a P3 as this is in front of the horn base.