Ridgetop
Herd Master
I do love the colors on that flashy buck. In fact in a pet type breed that would be worth bring in. I have WHITE Dorpers and breed strictly for meat and type. Luckily in all Dorpers, both BH & W, the standard is completely based on meat. And the body type needed to get it. I love my White Dorpers because they are so much are calmer than the black headed Dorpers. All Dorper breeders with both types will agree that the Black Headed Dorpers can be wild and crazy!
Luckily with my all white sheep I don't have to pick color over type since any color is a flaw. This can be confusing since the standard calls for "good pigment" which means black eyelids in the WDs. LOL Like everything else in this South African breed, the pigment requirement has a health reason. Lack of pigment can lead to skin cancers in the stark sun of the South African veld. Keeping good pigment in white Dorpers can be harder since good pigment can also lead to other black spots which are not desirable and not allowed in registered animals. Whatever breed you are breeding for has a type and a "Standard of Perfection". This Standard is never reached but we strive for it.
Whatever breed you breed for, you need to remember your market. If you are breeding for game ranches you will want to breed for a large heavy rack of horns. No hunter wants to pay to shoot a hornless sheep, they want that trophy rack. Many will not even want the meat from the carcass. Good feet and legs are necessary in any breeding program since the animal has to be able to get around over any kind of territory in search of food. The game ranch is not going to go out every month and round up all those trophy rams and trim hooves. The same goes for parasite resistance since if the animal is wormy it will not make a valuable trophy carcass.
If you are breeding registered animals, go to the ranches that have achieved your ideal for breedings rams. You can pay a little more since those ranches have already done all the upgrading with expensive animals and you will get the results of their years of breeding.
If you are not breeding registered animals, you have more leeway. Then you can bring in rams of a different breed to add the meat you want if you can't find any registered ones you like.
Remember that bringing in expensive rams will not always give you the magic "NICK" in offspring. The magic "NICK" is the cross where the offspring are better than the parents and give you what you want. Some bloodlines of the same registered animals don't combine well with others. Some do. Often the best winning rams don't produce as well as their brothers or cousins that are not as good. One of my rams out of terrific bloodlines is only a Grade 3 (commercial) but 80% of his offspring are Grade 5 no matter to which ewe he is bred. Another Grade 4 ram has been sold because his get were not the same quality - only 20% Grade 5. (5 is the highest grade). The same goes for ewe production.
Decide what you want in your flock, obtain a copy of the Standard of Perfection from the breeding society, then compare your ewes to what you really want and decide what type of ram to put on them. Go to some shows and listen to what the judge says about meat distribution on the carcass. If your extension office offers classes, go to them - a carcass class is really useful to show where the meat actually is on the carcass. It is much cheaper to upgrade buying a new ram than it is ewes. A lot of the breed societies will offer seminars. Remember not to focus on breeding for lambs like club lambs at the Fair. Youth auction club lambs are usually a black face Suffolk, Hamp, or cross. They are leggy, cylindrical, and elegant looking BUT they don't carry as much meat as a true meat breed. The judge will point out where the meat is carried on the lambs which can help you learn what you are looking for. If you are selling meat that leggy silhouette is not for you. There is little meat on the long legs of a tall club lamb. If you are selling to a meat buyer or packing plant, those type lambs will be discriminated against in pricing.
It is better to find a picture of what you want in your sheep and compare your ewes to it. Make a note of where your ewes need improvement, i.e.
Remember when cross breeding .
Luckily with my all white sheep I don't have to pick color over type since any color is a flaw. This can be confusing since the standard calls for "good pigment" which means black eyelids in the WDs. LOL Like everything else in this South African breed, the pigment requirement has a health reason. Lack of pigment can lead to skin cancers in the stark sun of the South African veld. Keeping good pigment in white Dorpers can be harder since good pigment can also lead to other black spots which are not desirable and not allowed in registered animals. Whatever breed you are breeding for has a type and a "Standard of Perfection". This Standard is never reached but we strive for it.
Whatever breed you breed for, you need to remember your market. If you are breeding for game ranches you will want to breed for a large heavy rack of horns. No hunter wants to pay to shoot a hornless sheep, they want that trophy rack. Many will not even want the meat from the carcass. Good feet and legs are necessary in any breeding program since the animal has to be able to get around over any kind of territory in search of food. The game ranch is not going to go out every month and round up all those trophy rams and trim hooves. The same goes for parasite resistance since if the animal is wormy it will not make a valuable trophy carcass.
If you are breeding registered animals, go to the ranches that have achieved your ideal for breedings rams. You can pay a little more since those ranches have already done all the upgrading with expensive animals and you will get the results of their years of breeding.
If you are not breeding registered animals, you have more leeway. Then you can bring in rams of a different breed to add the meat you want if you can't find any registered ones you like.
Remember that bringing in expensive rams will not always give you the magic "NICK" in offspring. The magic "NICK" is the cross where the offspring are better than the parents and give you what you want. Some bloodlines of the same registered animals don't combine well with others. Some do. Often the best winning rams don't produce as well as their brothers or cousins that are not as good. One of my rams out of terrific bloodlines is only a Grade 3 (commercial) but 80% of his offspring are Grade 5 no matter to which ewe he is bred. Another Grade 4 ram has been sold because his get were not the same quality - only 20% Grade 5. (5 is the highest grade). The same goes for ewe production.
Decide what you want in your flock, obtain a copy of the Standard of Perfection from the breeding society, then compare your ewes to what you really want and decide what type of ram to put on them. Go to some shows and listen to what the judge says about meat distribution on the carcass. If your extension office offers classes, go to them - a carcass class is really useful to show where the meat actually is on the carcass. It is much cheaper to upgrade buying a new ram than it is ewes. A lot of the breed societies will offer seminars. Remember not to focus on breeding for lambs like club lambs at the Fair. Youth auction club lambs are usually a black face Suffolk, Hamp, or cross. They are leggy, cylindrical, and elegant looking BUT they don't carry as much meat as a true meat breed. The judge will point out where the meat is carried on the lambs which can help you learn what you are looking for. If you are selling meat that leggy silhouette is not for you. There is little meat on the long legs of a tall club lamb. If you are selling to a meat buyer or packing plant, those type lambs will be discriminated against in pricing.
It is better to find a picture of what you want in your sheep and compare your ewes to it. Make a note of where your ewes need improvement, i.e.
Remember when cross breeding .