Hi all just wanting to see if many other people on here have these types of breeds of sheep on their farms and are you keen on discussing them and their management.

I purchased a mob of Dorper/Damara cross ewes in December. I am intending on breeding them into full blood dorpers eventually but first I will be concrentrating on fertility and shedding ability. As well as culling out any trouble makers.

So far I have found myself fascinated in the difference in their behavior compaired to the "standard" merino/first cross ewes that most people in my patch have. They graze in a very tight mob and tend to walk around like this while grazing.

They also eat bloody everything! Even Stuff like fairy grass and box rollypolly(like tumble weed)

LOL I misread your title and though you had somehow strapped a doppler radar to a sheep Adon, but then I dyslexic.

Hmm culling troubkle makers - better lay in a stock of mint sauce then.

They sound like an interesting breed. I must admit to never having heard of them before. Also not a farmer but have worked with sheep a long time ago after i left school for a couple of months.

Haha a doppler on a sheep! wow they would slow it down!

Yeah these sheep are african breeds and have not been in our country for that long really. Culling is more about selling sheep not killing but I suggest a lamb or two will be staying for the freezer. Beats buying from sopermarkets.

http://www.bybloswhitedorper.com/why-white-dorper.cfm?p=2 some info for those who may be inetrested.

My neighbor tried a few up here and they are very hardy animals thats for sure , and the ram fought off a few dingo attacks , unfortunately the dingos won in the end as we could not keep up with them coming out of the ranges ...

Not sure of your fencing Adon but the ewes get their little horns stuck in ring lock all the time and don't seem to learn , lol ,, but then what sheep dose ? haha

They eat very well .. and that tail is just great ,, cook with skin on , on hot coals , yumm , just like normal lamb tails and lamb marking time ...

Cheers

I have a prure bred Ram and some cross damara ewes I agree with you that they eat anything and they are very different to merinos

Hi Adon ! I have White Dorper and they are mad enough re "jumping" in the yards and breaking legs as they will take on with a jump any fence in front of them if they run at it. Besides that yes they are easy care but I do believe they eat a lot more say than say First X ewes. At this point in time one cannot breed a nice even line of lambs from them which I do not like. If it was not for the easy care I don't know that I would bother with them now.
From what I hear Damarra are even "madder" to handle and almost impossible to work with in yards. I have seen a mob of 1300 go around a paddock like a rugby scrum all touching each other for security....Over this way the Agents hate them !
Good Luck !

Hey Goody thanks for that. Mine are a lazy mob as I first saw them in the yards when I was looking to buy. They were easier on the yards than some merino ewes we had here this year (they wrecked my yards). I had been warned about their "crazy" attitude but I did get this mob from an irrigation farm so maybe that could be a station sheep behavior. They do stick very close as you said but I can get to within 5m of them on the paddock without them taking off. Infact I was just going around them and was trying to move them to a different part of the paddock but gave up as I could not get them to move very far or fast!

But have had them go under 2 gates(but they were crap wire gates and the paddocks I had them in were getting low on feed and a nice stubble beckoned on the other side.

When you say much more feed, do you mean they eat a greater variety of a greater amount of feed? I am trying to figure out how many I can run on the place but I reckon it will take a year or two for that question to be answered.

As for the even line of lambs, I am not really sure of what you mean. Do you mean some do well and others not? How many do you run and what sort of breeding cycle to you run? I got about 50 of the ewe lambs from this mob and apart from a couple of ones that look like they have a fair amount of Damara in them, they seem to be all pretty even in condition.

Just one other thing Goody? How do you sell your lambs? Hooks or sale yards?

http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky...i-1226260544650 I hope they are smarter than these ones in Russia.

Hey Goody, Just wondering if you could share a little of your knowledge.....My ewes are due to drop in about April(judging on what the previous owner told me)But I am seeing some are pretty heavy in lamb. So do Dorper ewes show up pregnant earlier than merino? They are quite heavy and bellies are hanging quite low. But cannot see any swelling yet. But with a merino/xbred I would say they were maybe a week or so away. Maybe a ram got in early????

Hi Adon !
Sorry for so long to answer...I do not frequent the Forum very much these days.
I will try to answer you questions in order.
I have the opinion that they eat more because they never seem to stop and as you say, browse and have a go at everything and any thing in the paddock. Which is great this year for that flamin Fleabaine northern weed that has flourished down here with the last 2 good seasons. The Dorpers will eat off the flowering tops which in a normal year would be great but this year it just keeps growing back and becoming woodier with each rain....Damn stuff don't know how we can beat it ....spray at night is more successful so I hear.
I only have 300 ewes Adon and they are all sizes so that is the problem with getting and even line. With First X Ewes of course you do and have the lambs all looking like peas in a pod
I sell at the Wagga Saleyards because it is close ....Other further out have got into a group and they sell over on farm scales I guess for the hook which they are happy about....My prices are on par with the other types of lambs sold at Wagga
My ewes yes have a big belly out both sided and down so they do show earlier than merinos as most of them have twins...Dorper maidens will only have a single. Then if a year turns bad with later years instead of having twins they will only have one....be prepared to have to pull a lamb and watch their feet as being so heavy some will get foot absycse and it is a must to inject penicillin for it to control

Goody, the Birchip Cropping Group plus NSW researchers have had very good success on Fleabane up to 3 months after emergence.
If you can lay hands on BCG's latest manual "BCG 2011 season research results", you will get the info there.

The control using Round Up CT @ 1.5 L / Ha + Surpass 475 @ 1 L / Ha gave 60 % control up to 2 months and 50 % control at 3 months growth

Round Up CT 1.5 L / Ha + Surpass 475 1 L / Ha followed by a double knock Sprayseed 2 L / Ha
[ Li700 @ 300 mls/ ha was added ]
This mix plus the double knock Sprayseed gave a 100% control up to the 2 month stage and 90% at the 3 month stage of growth.

Ally reputedly gives good residual control.

[ Note; This mix above has not been registered for Fleabane and must NOT be used specifically for Fleabane until the necessary permits [ Vic ] for use are issued ]

There! Fullfilled my legal duty!!!

Goody! How many rams are you running with your ewes? Been trying to find out how many to run with 250 ewes.

As to pulling them, well been there done that! Interesting that you get similar prices for them in the yards, I was warmed off it by a few people here but that may be that our stock agaents are biased against them out here. I don't know how much of a discount but don't want to chance it.

G'day there Adon,

Thank's for the info on the Fleabane will follow that one up !

I only have 5 rams out with my 300 ewes as they are the only clean skin ones I have. I should have 12 out there in theory

Fleabane is horrific in our area this year, too. I don' tknow what to do with it. Fleabane and Great Mullein (Verbascum). MCPA/Metsulferon knocks the verbascum (metsulferon on its own isn't quite as effective, oddly) but fleabane in such numbers is new to me.

I don't want to use non-specific herbicides like roundup, I need my grass. Sprayseed ditto (horrible stuff). Does anything else hit it? (Ally is Metsulferon but I take it it doesn't kill it at advanced flowering stage?)

Hello ant ! I have sown down 45 ha to lucerne , clovers , cocksfoot , and ryes so I need something specific for this damn Fleabane like you ....As it is a broadacre crop planting area here there should be lots of heads to work someting out. I will let you know what the agronomy gurus say.
With this rain it will just keep on growing, mow it do whatever you can to stop it from flowering and setting seed which are thousands of little floaty things that go on the wind.
In some fields over here where it has been neglected it is as thick as it can stick and I mean thick ....Looks like stand of lucerne.

That's how it is in my district, everyone's got it and it's come out of nowhere, we don't usually see it. It's flowering now so we're stuffed.

The areas where I was broadspraying St John's there's none, so evidently it doesn't like Grazon. And where I've been hitting the Verbascum, it's folding over and going yellow, but it's hard stuff to spray because it's so narrow. My latest mix is Metsulferon, MCPA and Kamba (for the wireweed) and that seems to be killing it, but there's acres I didn't get to and it's like bamboo. The wet season did it, apparently.

You just can't win. You get the upper hand on some weeds, and then a new one arrives.

Fleabane is just starting to come into the Mallee and northern Wimmera in quantity here in Vic.
BCG have done work on it in conjunction with the GRDC.
From the BCG 2011 trial results manual. The manual has all the trial results and what worked and what didn't work in it but i will just quote what worked on Fleabane.
It is particularly bad pest weed in minimum till as when buried even very shallow, germination is generally prevented .

Roundup Powermax @ 2 ltrs / Ha plus Surpass @ 1.6 Ltrs / Ha = 80% control

As above plus Ally @ 5 grms / Ha = 85% control


Double knock with the following gave between 90% and 100% control

Roundup CT @ 1.5 ltrs / Ha plus Surpass 475 @ 1 ltr / Ha in 75 ltrs / Ha water

Followed 7 days after initial knockdown by

Sprayseed @ 2 ltrs / Ha in 105 ltrs water.

Disclaimer; Spayseed in Victoria is not [ yet ] registered for this use.

Getting Fleabane even in my area thanks to the wet summers and yer was told to do a double knock with the roundup followed up by sprayseed seems to get the best results or atleast so im told.

I really hate using Roundup and Sprayseed as my place is just open land, and it gets everything, including the grass. What little grass there is. Interesting they said Ally (metsulferon) gives 85% control, that's my observation too. Also, it seems something likes to eat it when it's young and soft, but of course it reacts by sending up multiple branches.

Ant have you thought of using a knockdown herbicide through a weed wiper boom? I don't ave this stuff but by all accounts ot grows taller than the rest of the grass so wiping it with a knock down would knock it about I would have thought.

Hi ant !
My Dorper sheep are going just great at control of Fleabane....They are still eating the tops of every plant they can find so must like it. Wooohoo ! I am so pleased as my my neighbour who has Merinos says they do not eat it all that much ? :-) I am a happy chappy

I think you need a machine to use a weed wiper. I do have one of those stick-things (weed wand) for roundup, but I'm not sure if it'd be useable for acres!

you're right Adon, wiping would get them as they are tall-as. You'd have to do several runs over the weeks as the shorter ones wouldn't be got. SpraySeed would deal with them.

Something's been eating the tops off the little ones, I figure it's rabbits or hares, but then teh plant sprouts 5 or 6 new branches! Like Verbascum.

Horrible weed, it's depressing. Everyone's got it, apart from people with cows who seem to eat it. I need a cow.

Ant weed wipers are sort of like boom sprays but instead of a line and nozzles, it has a wick like the weed want you were talking about. They use almost straight chemical so the tank is very small and this means you can tow them behind a ute. Although I have not built one I would say they would not be too difficult to knock one up from a spot sprayer and some spare parts.

Ok onto my question..... My ewes are most of the way through lambing ATM and they seem to be pretty relaxed about leaving their lambs sleeping and wandering off to graze. They seem to mother up again but if you drive around and find a new one, you have a little bugger running like crazy after the ute! I was under the impresson they were better mothers than mine are(maybe it is the damara in them that is not as good??). I am getting a few sets of triplets but a few have been lost to bloody foxes despite my efforts to shoot them. Seems that the foxes are going for the triplets, either that or the mothers sacrifice one for the good of the others.

Just resurrecting this old thread and wondering if many others still have some Dorpers.

We have a dozen straight Dorper ewes that lambed at 115% this year.

After having owned/farmed fine and med. wool Merinos and 1st cross ewes the Dorpers are quite surprising in being so constitutionally tough. Grab most sheep by the nose from behind and lift up to seat them on their rump and it's all done in seconds, not quite so with Dorpers which will walk backwards on the hind legs as you try to sit them down. Strongest sheep I've handled !

Tougher than 1st X ewes, (Border Leicester/Merino) and will milk on for the lambs for longer.

While the maiden ewes usually have single lambs most of the old ewes have twins.

Killed the first of the lambs from this years lambing and looking at them thought they might dress maybe 16 / 18 kg.

The two better lambs hung up at 21kg which is pretty good off dry pasture and just 5 to 6 months old.

Son home for dinner last night, Mums lamb roast was outstanding and has earnt the Dorpers another tick for the breed.

An excellent small holding meat sheep, just make sure the fences are suitable.

How are others finding the Dorper breed of sheep ?

I am selling all of mine in a week or so. The drought has hastened the Edison but a lack of succession planning is the main reason. They are bloody tough and will do well on stuff other breeds will starve on. But working with them in yards is bloody hard! Strongest, smartest sheep I have ever worked with. You cannot force your will on them like other sheep. You will get the job done but you will be stuffed after the day.

If I can get back I to agriculture again once we figure out where we are, I will be buying dorpers agin for sure.

Never truer words said adon, smart & strong & they mob up and face off at a strange dog or something that might threaten them.

I yard them up when changing paddocks, try to quieten them a bit, once they settle down in the yards they are better, when first in off their woolly heads..lol

Half of our ewes were 6 y.o. when I bought them and successfully lambed this year and did a great job on the lambs.

Mouths still good so we'll give them another year. What age did you run yrs to.

This time of yr it's no loss not having to chase fly strike also.

Hope the rain comes for you adon, we're doing OK in Gippsland for a change although compared to parts of West NSW / QLD we saw last year have we it easy here most of the time by comparison.