History and Origin

The origin and development of the Dormer

The origin of the Dormer from a cross between Dorset Horn rams with German Merino ewes (presently known as the S A Mutton Merino) was a direct consequence of a series of extensive slaughter lamb experiments carried out at the Elsenburg Research Station of the Department of Agriculture since 1927 over a period of more than ten years.

The name DORMER is an abbreviation of the linkage Dorset-Merino. The main object with the development of the Dormer was to breed a mutton breed which could adapt to conditions in the winter rainfall area of South Africa (cold and wet) and from which suitable rams could be produced for cross breeding purposes. The aim was a slaughter lamb breed which could produce meat rapidly and economically. A contributing factor in the development of the Dormer was to breed a sheep of which, at the Smithfield market in England, the lambs could compete with slaughter lambs from Australia and New Zealand, the reason for this being that the local market was very depressed and precarious during the depression years.

Rams of a large variety have been used in the Elsenburg experiments. Amongst these were the Dorset Horn, Border Leicester, Ryeland, Romney Marsh, South Down, Suffolk Down, Texel, Corriedale, German Merino and the Blackhead Persian. Merino ewes were initially used as dams.

In an effort to breed a bigger ewe with a better mutton conformation (than the Merino) without changing the Merino's wool characteristics, the German Merino ram was used on Merino ewes. Lambs from these crossbred ewes, mated with Dorset Horn rams, showed a greater average daily gain than any of the other cross bred lambs. This finding was contributory to the fact that pure South African

Mutton Merino ewes were subsequently used in the cross breeding programme.

In 1936, following experiments performed out over eight years, the conclusion was reached that the Dorset Horn ram had given the most outstanding performance as regards mass gain and carcass quality of lambs begotten from crosses with Merino ewes. A finding in favour of the Dorset Horn and the SA Mutton Merino was that, of the imported breeds, they were the only two to produce a satisfactory lambing percentage in autumn. This trait is of the utmost importance in the Western Cape where primarily winter pastures are utilised for the production of lambs.

An abnormally high mortality rate occurred under mature Dorset Horn sheep as a consequence of low resistance to infection with the lung parasite muellerius cappilaris. In contrast, the SA Mutton Merino, producing under the same conditions experienced no abnormal deaths. The deduction was made that either the SA Mutton Merino was not as vulnerable to infection or that it was highly resistant to infection with the lung parasite. On the strength of favourable results achieved with the Elsenburg slaughter lamb experiments and the marketing of carcasses on the Smithfield market, it was decided to conduct similar experiments on a cooperative basis over the entire winter rainfall area. The purpose was to investigate the possibility of developing a profitable slaughter lamb industry which would, to a large extent, be aimed at the overseas market. To give effect to this, the Council of Control over the Livestock and Meat Industries (currently the South African Meat Board) proceeded during the years 1936 and 1937 to import several hundreds of the British mutton breed rams from Australia and England. A number of the rams were put out on loan for the cooperative slaughter lamb experiments. The rams were mainly crossed with Merino ewes. During the years 1937 and 1938 more than 6000 lamb carcasses were shipped to the Smithfield market as experimental consignments. From these large scale cooperative experiments it was confirmed that the Dorset Horn rams were the best producers of slaughter lambs.

The idea of creating a new mutton breed from a cross between Dorset Horn rams and German Merino ewes (SA Mutton Merino) to replace the Dorset Horn in the winter rainfall area as slaughter lamb producers, originated from Mr LH Bartel, who actively occupied himself with the establishment of a slaughter lamb industry for the winter rainfall area.

In the creation of the new breed an effort had to be made to integrate Muellerius cappilaris as far as possible, the excellent mutton qualities and growth rate of the Dorset Horn and the resistance to the lung parasite of the S A Mutton Merino. The qualities of fertility and fecundity, good milk production and a relatively long breeding season are present to a large extent in both these breeds, while both breeds - the one as sire and the other as dam breeding material - have performed best in the previously mentioned cross breeding programmes.

One of the major requisites in the creation of a new breed from a cross is to start off with very good breeding material. It was consequently decided not to utilise the Elsenburg Dorset Horns which were already showing the symptoms of serious lung trouble, but to import good stud rams from Australia.

October 18, 1940 marked the arrival at the Elsenburg Research Station of the ten Dorset Horn stud rams purchased with funds made available by the Council for Control over the Livestock and Meat Industries. Following strict selection on conformation and type, only four of these were selected for eventual use.

As far as can be established the first sale of Dormer rams was held at Elsenburg in 1947 and annually thereafter, except in 1969 when all the sheep were needed for an experiment. The average selling price at the first sale was R15 (approx. US$ 3.2). The price remained relatively low until 1954, where after it started to increase. The highest price for a Dormer ram and the highest average price achieved at an Elsenburg sale was in 1975. At this sale the highest price for ewes and the highest average price during recent years were fetched namely R350 (approx. US$ 74.47) and R276.79 (approx. US$ 58.89) respectively. The first official Dormer sale to be held away from the Elsenburg sales, was at Goodwood on October 27, 1968. Since then sales are being held yearly in Bloemfontein and Goodwood.

Apart from the Elsenburg flock, Dormers were also bred by private farmers. Through participation in the cooperative experiments, farmers and private concerns took part in the breed's development since 1937. Since about 1947 they upgraded their flocks with Dormer rams bought at the Elsenburg sales.

The need developed to form a Dormer Breeders' Society to manage and control the breeding of Dormers which were spread over large parts of South Africa. A founding meeting to discuss the matter was held at Elsenburg on October 19, 1965. On that Tuesday night, 19 Dormer breeders and interested persons assembled to discuss the establishment of a Dormer Sheep Breeders' Society. At this meeting Prof TC Swart officiated as Chairman and Mr GD Viljoen as secretary.

A proposal by Mr Boy van der Merwe that a Dormer Sheep Breeders Society of SA be formed, was carried unanimously. The purpose of the Society was to protect the interests of the breeders, to promote the breed and to affiliate with the
SA Stud Book Association.

An attempt to register the Dormer as a breed was made during 1967. However many setbacks and problems were encountered with the registration of the Dormer. Towards 1970 a measure of progress was achieved when on April 17, 1970 the Dormer was acknowledged by the S A Stud Book Association as a developing sheep breed.

Further discussions in connection with the registration of the Dormer were held on August 5, 1970 between members of the Dormer Sheep Breeders' Society (DC Lourens, WJ Louw and IL Ferreira) and delegates from S A Stud Book Association.

At a meeting of the Dormer Sheep Breeders Society held on October 13, 1970, Mr JP du Plessis provided information related to the requisites for registration of animals with the S A Stud Book Association. The meeting resolved that affiliation with SA Stud Book Association would be postponed for another year, but that Elsenburg would continue with registration as an individual member.

At a meeting of the Dormer Sheep Breeders Society held on October 16, 1973, the Society resolved to affiliate with the SA Stud Book Association. During this meeting the General Manager reported that selected Dormers would immediately qualify for the F4 generation provided such breeders could submit to S A Stud Book the certificates together with three generations. Such animals could be fully registered within three generations as the lambs of F6 are eligible for registration. It was decided that Elsenburg could commence with the F1 generation.

Growth of the Society

After affiliation with the SA Stud Book Association the number of members increased rapidly and towards the middle of the eighties and until the end of the eighties the society had its greatest number of members in the history of the breed.

During the early nineties the number of animals and breeders dropped drastically as a result of the severe drought and the serious economic problems in the country. Membership is currently at its lowest ever.

Distribution of Breeders'

Although the Dormer originated as a result of a need for the production of slaughter lambs in the Western and Southern Cape regions having been identified, the Dormer is today distributed throughout South Africa. A few large flocks are still being run in the Western and Southern Cape, but the majority of Dormer breeders are currently domiciled in the Free State and Gauteng Provinces.

Breed Excellence

Fertility

Many sheep farmers in South Africa have come to the conclusion that the answer for the slaughter lam producer is a Dormer ram. The question is however - Why Dormer?

The Dormer is well known for its high fertility, excellent mothering abilities, long breeding season and easy lambing. As a result of abovementioned characteristics the Dormer is one of the most efficient mutton sheep breeds in South Africa.

The following table reflects the results of a lambing season in the Southern Cape (92.07.14 - 92.12.31)

EWES	NO. OF LAMBS	%
115	233	202,6
53	95	177,36
SINGLE 34	= 34	29,56
TWINS 51	= 102	44,35
TRIPLETS 25	= 75	21,74
QUADRUPLETS 3	= 12	2,6
QUINTUPLETS 2	= 10	1,74

Under extensive conditions multiple births, especially twins, often occur and depending on management and other conditions, a lambing percentage of 120 - 150 is the order of the day.

Slaughter lambs

Dormer lambs over the years held their own at every show and slaughter lamb competition. During the last 10 years Dormer lambs have obtained several champion single lamb carcasses as well as champion groups at various shows throughout South Africa.

Breed Improvement and performance Testing

The efficiency of the breed has improved dramatically over the last decade mainly due to performance testing being compulsory for all breeders as well as the fact that minimum breed standards have been implemented for the breed.

Growth potential

The following data taken from 10 breeders reflect the growth potential of the Dormer lamb.

EWE LAMBS	RAM LAMBS
Ave. WM = 34,04 kg	Ave. WM =36,04 kg
Ave. ADA = 272g	Ave. ADA= 275g
Data for 100 day indices for 1058 lambs	Data for 100 day indices for 945 lambs

SEMI INTENSIVE GROWTH TESTS (Phase D)
Intensive growth tests (Phase D)
Number of rams in test	25
Test period	90 days
Starting mass	34,43 kg
Final mass	65,46 kg
Ave. gain over test period	31,03 kg
Ave. daily gain (ADG)	345 g

Projects to promote the breed

The most important methods used for marketing the breed are the following:

Show Participation

Show participation on a regular basis is encouraged. National championships are presented bi- annually while on average 4 to 5 regional and provincial shows are held annually.

Show Exhibitions

The largest and most important shows in the country are identified where animals together with their performance records are displayed. Such exhibitions are further supported by way of statistics which serve a double purpose to introduce the breed in regions where it is relatively unknown. The growth and development of the breed is highlighted at displays and additional information is supplied in the form of promotion of pamphlets, newsletters and other promotional material.

Information Days

Here the same principles are applied but in addition to these, lectures on relevant topics are delivered by experienced people. Practical demonstrations are conducted on animals with the emphasis on aspects such as functional efficiency and performance records, which also serves to practically illustrate the Dormer system.

Training Courses

Training is done on a continuous basis for breeders, selectors, junior selectors, as well as commercial breeders.

Symposiums

A symposium coinciding with the AGM, is presented annually for breeders as well as any interested people. Lectures are presented by specialists in the local industry as well as from overseas. The high standard of lectures and papers delivered at such symposiums greatly contributes to the fact that the Dormer is well known throughout South Africa and therefore attracts wide interest.

Media

The Society is in constant contact with the media, especially the Agricultural Writers Association of SA in order to continually bring developments within the breed and results obtained from research to the attention of the industry.

Other information material such as pamphlets, newsletters and journals are also made available to the media for publication.

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