left: 0px; #k2Container .itemList .itemContainer .catItemIntroText { Many Dorper breeders talk about how they have bred for good feet, but thats still relative to other breeds and its always the dorper and dorper cross that start limping first in a flock. } The Dorper is now being bred throughout the … There should be 200 plus offspring on the ground this year from a wide ewe base so we will have a good ability to assess how good he is. font-size: 15px; #jsn-content { padding-top: 8px; margin: 0; Most people have the kind of experience that KJJ talks about above, and that has also been my experience, and with the cross breds, not the purebreds. margin: 0px auto; margin-bottom: 0px; span.catItemImage img { } } Manahune Sheep Stud was started in Queenstown by Charles Miller-Brown in 2007 breeding Dorper and White Dorper Sheep, under the name Slopehill Downs,and in 2011 we started a Texel stud. } They fetch high prices and altho they are very good converters of grass to protein, in fact one of the best, yes the feet are an issue. } With the New Zealand sheep industry moving to the hills we are breeding a hardy White Dorper, tested on hills, fully recorded on S.I.L, eye muscle scanned, tested with WormFEC,. This has resulted in at least one above average ram lamb each year which has then been used as a back up ram to our artificial breeding programme. .jsn-modulecontent .moduleItemIntrotext p { #form-login-password { #k2Container .itemList .itemContainer .k2ReadMore { top: 28px; Gracelands - home of Hanoverian horses, minature White Galloway cattle and dorper sheep. margin-top: 0px; .dj-megamenu.dj-megamenu-default.dj-megamenu-sticky.dj-megamenu-fixed { If you have fewer than about 200 ewes in a stud flock, the chances of finding a ram that is "good enough" reduces exponentially. div.richbox-2 div.jsn-modulecontainer_inner .moduleItemCategory { Embryos of purebred Dorpers were imported from Australia in February 2001 and purebred Dorper rams are also used as terminal sires – producing fine first-cross lambs. Many of us on here have breeding groups of Wiltshires, and are very happy with them. width: 100%; } / font-weight: bold; / We are currently blood sampling to acquire Dermatosparaxis clear flock status. width: 97%; #jsn-topbar { display: none; } #kunena.lsb-kunena-wrapper.layout .modal { I no longer have any dorper or part dorper for that reason However, once we have established a flock size of 100 PB ewes then an option will be to sell commercial quality ewes to make way for better quality young stock to be retained. / font-weight: bold; / text-align: center; z-index: 0; width: 76%; At Arimba this season there should be 80 purebred lambs born (most pure background but some from appendix ewes) so it will be interesting to see how they develop and a great opportunity to compare the offspring from each of the four rams used. Internal parasite control is administered on an as required basis rather than mob treatment. .jsn-modulecontainer_inner { margin-bottom: 0px; Graceland Dorpers. font-size: 16px; } border: solid 1px #fff; color: #fff; color: #000; In 2013 we moved up to North Canterbury, and early in 2019 we purchased Manahune in Waipara. max-width: 96%; Www.mapledorp.co.nz margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 0px; } Throughout our build up period we have had ET and/ or AI programmes . #k2Container div.catItemView { #k2Container .itemList .itemContainer p { display: inline-block; #kunena.layout ul.nav.lsb-custom-login-wrapper { body::after { height: 30px; border: 1px solid #ccc; } margin-top: -20px; He never had any issues with the feet, despite the very wet conditions all year round (summer: hot and wet all the time, winter: just cold and all sheep 'indoors' for a couple of months of snow). #k2Container .itemList .itemContainer p { #k2Container .itemList .itemContainer .k2ReadMore { } The only good thing I have heard about dorpers have come from breeders who extol their virtues. The name Dorper is a coupling of the first syllable of the names of the parent breeds, Dorset horn ram and Persian ewe. } float: right; font-size: 16px; float: none; The breed is fixed giving reliable reproduction of features and characteristics. #k2Container .itemList .itemContainer { Been there, done that, never again I no longer have any dorper or part dorper for that reason. Showing the world what New Zealand Dorper breeders are up to margin-top: 18px; } text-transform: uppercase; } This has been a valuable acquisition as the progeny are impressive with good bone, conformation and muscling with excellent cover. #k2Container .jsn-article-toolbar a img { background: #009933; As another aside, and also for anyone else who has sheep and goats (and any other kind of animal, too), keep very good written and saved notes of when feet were checked, and what was done. display: none; text-decoration: none; A week after the trim he was limping again, a month later his hooves had grown a food half an inch and were packed with mud and poop and foot rat again. font-weight: bold; .ial-window, .ial-usermenu { Almost no flat areas where water would stay for more than a few minutes. position: absolute; The breeding programme resulted in the Black headed and the White Dorper.