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Our ranch also produces fullblood Dorpers and Royal White sheep, which are both hair sheep breeds.
The Dorper breed was developed in the 1940s in South Africa by crossing the Dorset Horn and Blackhead Persian breeds. The objective was to create a new breed of non-woolled sheep that could survive in climates with 6 to 8 inches of rainfall annually and a breed that would produce a high quality carcass and a more desirable pelt for leather goods.
The Royal White breed was developed in America by Bill Hoag by crossing the White Dorper and the St. Croix breeds, both white hair sheep. He began crossing the two breeds in the 1990s in Utah, then moved to near Snyder, Texas where he continued his selective breeding to develop the new breed. He has since moved his ranching operation to Beallsville, Ohio.
Both the Dorpers and the Royal Whites have many desirable traits for the producer of sheep and lambs for meat. They have rapid and outstanding feed-to-weight gain ratios, high quality meat, high quality pelts, strong mothering instincts, higher parasite resistance than most breeds of sheep, a strong tendency to deliver multiple births and high lamb survivability. They are adaptable to any climate, have strong flocking instincts and are not flighty by nature.
All of our Dorper sheep are registered by the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Assn. Many of our Royal Whites are registered by the Royal White Sheep Assn. We sell breeding stock from both breeds and welcome inquiries about breeding stock, or, just to visit about these two breeds of sheep.
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These are 2 of the Dorper breeding rams produced at our ranch
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This ram was the reserve champion yearling ram in the 2011 Texas High Country Dorper Assn. Show & Sale in Fredericksburg, Texas, one of the biggest Dorper sheep shows in the country. The picture features ranch owners Garet & Mardi von Netzer and South African show judge Pieter Van Schalkwyk
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This Dorper ewe is proud of her fast-growing twin lambs
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This Dorper ewe lamb comes from the father of the 2011 reserve champion ram in the Fredericksburg, Texas show
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This stud Dorper ram is the father of the 2011 Reserve Champion ram in the Texas Hill Country Dorper Assn. Show in Fredericksburg, Texas. He has impressive muscle and balance
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These Royal White ewes are in their prime
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These Royal White ewes are thriving despite the fact their range in 2011 has been suffering the worst drought in recorded weather history.
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