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Questionnaire on how to start with Dorper farming - Tien Jordaan
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How To Start Dorper Farming
The ‘Musts’ And ‘Must Not's Of Farming With Dorpers: By Rodney Rayner – Senior Inspector
All types of farming are becoming more and more complicated by the day, and thus it has become more and more difficult to make a success of any farming enterprise - although, as we all realise, a Dorper Farming enterprise is one of only a few which more or less assures one of a safe investment, there are still certain aspects which must be considered to make the guarantee of success even more secure.
Dorpers are presently the leaders in the meat industry. Since 1997, Dorpers have taken the prizes at the National carcass competition, which proves that we have achieved a top-quality carcass by using top breeding animals to improve Dorper flocks.
Please do not consider this an absolutely complete list – it contains really only the basic requirements and/or necessities and can be considerably lengthened and improved.
The Musts:
Preference for the Breed: Do not attempt to farm with a Breed you do not like – this can only create disaster!! If you should consider Stud Breeding then to like the breed is not enough – you must “Love” that breed.
Knowledge of Breed: Before starting to farm with Dorpers gain as much knowledge as possible of the breed. Meet and discuss Dorpers with established Dorper farmers and /or Inspectors of the Society. Attend Dorper days. Attend Dorper courses
Planning of Enterprise: This is essential – do not just carry on aimlessly – work efficiently and with purpose!
(a) Dosing en Inoculating Program – consult experts to work it out for you.
(b) Ensure sufficient grazing/feed available – i.e. carrying capacity of your unit – consult an expert – extension officers.
(c) Grazing programme – rotate camps – consult specialists.
(d) Facilities – ensure sufficient grazing camps available.
(e) Working facilities – kraal facilities – not necessarily expensive, but it must be efficient – it must be a pleasure to work with your animals, not a chore.Purchasing of Breeding material: Attempt to purchase breeding stock with a good background – especially in purchasing Rams for your stud and or flock as they Constitute 50% of your stud or flock’s breeding potential. Purchase from established, recognised Breeders and do not hesitate to obtain advice from the Society Inspectors or other Dorper experts.
Selection: With the selection of breeding animals, concentrate on selecting for the economic characteristics – forget the fancy points to begin with – they will come with time. (i.e. Base your selection on re-production, mass gain and conformation.)
Record –keeping: In this day and age where farming is becoming more scientific and economic profitability of more vital importance than ever, it has become even more essential to eliminate “passengers” from your flock – one just cannot afford to keep them. To facilitate the process of identifying the unproductive or less productive animals, the recommended way is to keep record of your animals. Basically, all that is required is to know whether the ewe lambs regularly, and whether she can rear her lamb properly up to weaning age. However, for the more modern and more scientifically minded, this info would not really prove adequate and these breeders or farmers would be better served by joining the Departmental Performance testing scheme the information required for this includes the following: Date of birth of lamb, type & sex, Dam’s No, Sire’s no, Weaning date and weaning masses. From this information an adjusted wean mass & index is calculated for each lamb plus a wealth of other detailed comparisons.
Mating: Difficult to have precise dates as one has to adapt according to the season – but bear in mind that under normal climatic conditions the Dorper Ewe will rear a lamb every 8 months. ( A large percentage of mature ewes will produce twins) Very important: Before commencement of every mating period: - (a) Make sure sufficient Rams are available – under extensive Conditions 3 – 4% (b) Ensure Rams in good condition – must also not be over- fat. (c) Check all rams for fertility (d) Ensure ewes are picking up condition – must also not be over- fat. (e) Check each ewe’s udder to ensure that she will be able to rear her lamb.
Weaning of Lambs: (a) Wean at +/- 90 – 100 days (b) Try to avoid too great “Weaning Shock” for the lambs – this can be minimized by weaning lambs onto well-spared veld or onto pastures or into a Feed Pen for a while. (c) Ewes must also regain condition as quickly as possible before being mated again.
The Must Not's:
Success:*
Please do not think your Dorper Enterprise will make you wealthy over night – it is, like any other enterprise, a long-term investment. On the other hand, with good management and sound planning the Dorpers will certainly get you there in quick time and prove to be a very good and solid investment.
Food:
Because the Dorper was bred for hardiness and is well known for this trait, please do not assume it can survive on “stones” – to re-produce and to rear lambs at regular intervals, the Ewe needs “food” and the better the quality and quantity the better returns the farmer will have. The hardiness trait really comes into effect because the Dorper is able to survive and rear lambs under extremely unfavourable conditions, where other breeds will battle to survive.
Care:
Because the Dorper is known as being an “Easy Care: breed ( and this is fact when in comparison to other breeds), please do not think the animals do not require attention or care – they must also be Dosed, Dipped and inoculated.
Passengers:
In this day and age of economic difficulties in farming, it has become impossible to carry sheep in your enterprise that do not produce. Inferior lambs must be eliminated from your flock. The only income from a Dorper ewe lies in the progeny she produces, and if she cannot do that, she becomes a liability.
Mating – age:
If rams and /or ewes are mated at too young an age, they suffer a setback from which they never really recover. Rams should only be used once they have cut their 2 teeth – well cared for rams such as young potential Stud rams can be used younger (with care) but should only be used lightly. Young ewes should only be mated for the first time when they are 12 months old. This enables them to cut their teeth before lambing for the first time. Mating – procedure: There are many methods or procedures for mating and the breeder has a wide choice, but there is one method that is not recommended – and that is To leave the Rams with the Ewes permanently year in and year out. It is an absolute fallacy to think you will achieve a higher lambing percentage by using this method. The reverse effect has been proven. By leaving the Rams and the Ewes permanently together your lambing season also extends to virtually all year round and this makes your management and marketing impossible to organise in a proper and orderly manner.
Mating – condition of sheep:
The condition of the ewes should be preferable that they are gaining condition when mating takes place – beware of over-fat ewes as they will often not conceive. Beware of using over-fat rams – they often are extremely lazy and / or battle to serve the ewes. This frequently occurs when breeders or farmers purchase over-fed and over-fat rams at sales and put them to the ewes immediately. The results are often disastrous –either the rams just lies at the water trough and does not even look for ewes to serve, or he is incapable of serving. A far better plan for the buyer would be to adapt the ram to his new conditions and environment gradually, and after he has lost some weight to then start mating him with the ewes.
Grading:
Beware of letting your slaughter lambs get too heavy before marketing – the carcass will be downgraded which directly reduces the price per Kg.
Selection:
Especially, when starting out, be careful to select your replacement stock on the economic characteristics, which influence meat production – be lenient on faults such as colour, covering and slight conformation faults.
