# Dorpers?



## Baymule (Oct 8, 2014)

Thank you @Bossroo for the input on Sheepgirl's lambing thread! I respect your opinions and knowledge. I was posting this reply on Sheepgirl's thread, then realized I was highjacking, so decided to start a thread of my own. 

 I have seen Dorpers in pastures, but not up close. What is your opinion of Katahdins?  I am leaning hard toward hair sheep because I would probably have a difficult time even finding shearers around here and if I did it, the poor sheep would look like it was attacked by a rabid squirrel with broken teeth.

The land we are buying is mostly wooded, and grown up in greenbriars and brush. I was thinking about goats to clean it up. But you're saying the Dorpers would browse like a goat? That would be wonderful! I have a tractor and can bush hog to knock down the worst of the mess, so grass could grow. The trees are not real thick, underbrushed, I think there would be some grass. What about poison oak, will they eat that too? 

We will be in northeast Texas, hot summers, cool winters with dips into the 20's, sometimes snow that lasts a couple of days. The soil is sandy. There are lots of pines and oak trees on the land, will Dorpers eat the acorns and will the acorns be bad or good for them? There is also wild persimmons on the property that we are not cutting. I figure free forage for the chickens if nothing else.
Will the Dorpers eat the bark off trees? I want the brush gone, but not my trees!

We have to fence the whole place. Going to use 4' horse wire 4"x2" on 7' T-posts with 2 strands of barbed wire at the top. We have a Great Pyrenees, a black Lab/Great Dane and Australian Shepherd. The Pyr and Lab/Dane are both great chicken guards and I expect them to be good with the sheep after an introductory period. The Aussie just wants to bite the chickens, so the Pyr hates her and wants her dead. LOL Also have 3 horses and a mule. I figure on having to keep the sheep separate from the mule as she might not take kindly to them. going to fence the garden area first and put the horses in it for the winter, then start fencing the rest of the place. We'll be moving at the end of the year and can't wait to get going!


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## Bossroo (Oct 9, 2014)

First , I will say that I haven't personally owned either the Dorper or the Katahdin breeds of sheep or any other hair sheep.  However I have raised commercial sheep and I have friends and  neighbors that raise hair ( Dorper )  or  other primitive type sheep. Also, out of curiosity, I have read extensively about all of the hair sheep and find the Dorper far superior in meat production under most conditions. So, from my personal experiences,( this being a new age and time in the sheep industry)  if I was to raise sheep today, without a dought it would be the Dorper  / White Dorper .  I mentioned the Dorper x Suffolk that my neighbor has. The xbred lambs were very meaty and well conformed and he found that the Mexican and Arab customers preferred these crossbreds much more than any other type of sheep and were willing to pay more as well as wait longer for the opportunity to buy his crossbred  lambs for their holiday feasts.   At one sheep dog herding show that my wife and I attended, the owners of the ranch had over a hundred Katahdin ewes plus their lambs. During the show, I talked extensively all day  with the owner.  She said that the year before, she purchased a Dorper Ram to cross onto some of her ewes to see what the crossbred lambs would be like.  She showed me 2 pens ... one of all Katahdin breeding and the other of the crossbreds.  The crossbreds appeared  much more meaty and she said that on average they were 9lbs as twins up to 17  lbs. as singles  heavier at the same age as well as being on the same feed and management as they were all raised on the same pasture up to weaning the month before. ( everyones' results may vary based on one's environment and management skills) . The crossbred lambs were more docile and easier to handle too.  She said that she will definately use the Dorper rams much more extensively next year and if she gets similar results, she will slowly convert her flock to all  Dorper crossbreds retaining the most productive ewe lambs.  I have seen Dorpers and White Dorpers at the fairs  and  also visited several ranches in Cal., Oregon and Washington that have Dorper / White Dorper sheep and found all of these flocks ... Impressive !!!  Since the Dorpers browse as well as graze, I would say that they will eat just about everything.  As far as I know ALL sheep may eat tree bark ( All goats will too ) at certain times of the year and / or if they are hungry enough just like horses and donkeys and mules do... known as pasture art.   I have and have seen flock owners wrap  chicken wire around the trees to a 6 ft height as a precaution. I have seen horse owners put a 6 ft. high  wood ( or steel )   fence with a wire fencing on the outside of  it  around  their pasture trees at the mature trees' drip  line.  As I have stated previously, Google :  " Dorper sheep in Texas for sale "  . There you will get a short history of the Dorper  ( or Google Dorper sheep for a more detailed history of how  and why the breed was developed and now used all over the world )  as well as photos of Dorpers / White Dorpers  at the various Texas ranches with descriptions.  Then visit several ranches to see for yourself. I most heartily recommend that you construct your fencing and facilities before you purchase any other animals.   I would build very strong pasture fences such as you describe, but consider a barb wire at the bottom and also 3 wire at the top too to deter coyotes as well as wild hogs ( I would consider NOT keeping your own pigs on your property as they will attract the wild boars that will run off with  your pigs and as you know pigs ROOT  )  . I also recommend that you build a couple holding pens, a sorting pen, and a small sheep barn with lamb jugs to make your life much easier.( Pay close attention to their facilities when visiting sheep ranches for your facility planning needs ) . Also I would keep the horses and mule together in a separate pasture from the sheep as a precaution as some horses and definately most donkeys and mules will play, harass and kill lambs and sometimes may do it to the adult sheep / goats  too.  NOT COOl !  Enjoy the sheep hunting adventures as well as your new property !


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## Baymule (Oct 12, 2014)

Thank you @Bossroo. There is a lot to be done on the property before I get more animals, but I am researching to learn all I can. Dorpers sound like a good sheep for my area. I will definitely build facilities for them before I get them.

 I have been trying to figure out what I'm going to do for winter shelter for my horses until we can get the whole place fenced and a proper barn built. I'll have to come up with a temporary shelter for them. I'm going to put up a couple of hoop coops for the chickens until I build them something better.


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