Our goals are to maintain
excellent shedding cover on fast growing, meaty animals. The
Katahdin base we started with has been very conducive to better
shedding hair coat offspring with high maternal instincts. Meat
quality is supreme. We strive to continue to produce these
attributes.
Dorper History:
The Dorper is a South African breed developed in the 1930's
from the Dorset Horn and Blackheaded Persian. The breed was
developed for the regions of South Africa.
The breed shows exceptional adaptability, hardiness,
reproduction rates and growth as well as good mothering
abilities.
The breed has the characteristic black head (Dorper) as well
as white heads (White Dorper). The Dorper breed was developed
through the crossing of the Blackhead Persian ewe with the
Dorset Horn and this resulted in the birth of some white Dorper
lambs. The difference in color is merely a matter of preference
for each breeder. Black-headed breeders constitute about 85% of
the members of the Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society of South
Africa.
Its skin covering is a mixture of hair and wool, and will
shed off. The Dorper skin is the most sought after sheepskin in
the world. The skin comprises a high percentage of the income
(20%) of the total carcass value.
In the early 1950's, a controversy arose concerning black
markings vs. a pure white sheep. Some breeders preferred a white
sheep, called the Dorsian, while others chose to select for
confirmation rather than color and use the black markings as
their trademark. In 1964, the controversy was settled when the
blackhead and white Dorper breeders united into one association
calling the black head sheep "Dorpers" and with the unmarked
being called "White Dorpers".
Dorper Skins:
* Dorper skins are regarded among
the best in the world. It has no wrinkles and a smooth grain.
It is used in the manufacture of high quality leather clothes and
gloves.
* These skins are a sought-after
export product, and few Dorper skins are used locally in the leather
industry. Pickled Dorpers skins are mostly sold for export at
good prices.
* The grain of the skin takes up
half of the total thickness of the skin. Glands are not well
developed in the grain, as the grain consists of a network of strong
collagen fibers. This network of collagen fibers makes the
leather exceptionally strong. Collagen is the material that
forms the leather.
* A sheepskin with a lot of hair
closely resembles a goatskin. The fibers of a Dorper skin are
delicate, but the skin structure is tighter and denser than that of
goatskins or woolskins. The weave angle of Dorper skin fibers
is flat – a feature that strengthens the leather further.
(Information supplied by the South African Meat Board)
OUR DOGS
Lending a helping hand at
the Chaparral are our working Border Collies, Great Pyrenees and
Anatolian livestock guardian dogs.
Dogs are not our whole
life, but they make our lives whole ~
--Roger Caras--
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours,
faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it
to him to be worthy of such devotion."
--Unknown--
About Us
Chaparral Sheep Ranch is
located in the heart of Southwest Missouri Ozarks. Originally
beginning with quality Katahdin hair sheep in 2000, we quickly
switched over to using a full blood Dorper ram in 2002 to gain
faster growing lambs. We couldn't be happier with the results.
We have continued to keep back exceptional quality Dorper ewe
lambs to cross on desirable full blood and purebred Dorper
rams. Our current flock consists of all registered Dorpers and
just a few select favorite Katahdin ewes.