Dorper sheep, a breed that is highly adaptable to harsh environmental conditions and resistant to diseases, is becoming increasingly popular among Kenyan farmers. This trend is mainly driven by the breed’s superior characteristics, especially the high demand for its meat. However, despite the breed’s long breeding season, there are few breeders in Kenya making good returns due to the limited number of registered and licensed breeders.
Jeremiah Sein, treasurer of the Dorper Sheep Breeders Society of Kenya, emphasizes the importance of registering and licensing members to avoid inbreeding of animals. Most breeders prefer producing and raising rams that they sell to farmers for breeding, rather than letting ewes from other farmers into their farms to avoid the spread of diseases.
Given the lambing interval of about eight months, a Dorper ewe can produce over two lambs on an annual basis. Therefore, a farm with about 50 Dorper sheep, 30 ewes, and 20 rams, a good ratio for breeding purposes, can have approximately 110 sheep at the end of the year. The Dorper lamb can reach a live weight of about 36 kg at the age of 3-4 months, and a ram can be sold for not less than Sh10,000 at this stage.
Hezron Kiprono, a successful Dorper sheep farmer from Mogotio in Baringo County, can sell up to 20 fully grown rams for breeding in a year, earning him about Sh400,000 on an upper estimate. He spends Sh2,000 every three months on deworming, Sh250 per week on buying acaricides, and Sh1,000 on veterinary consultations. Kiprono has also teamed up with two other Dorper sheep farmers in the area to form the Kisanana Dorper Breeders Society, a platform they use to exchange rams for breeding purposes and sell their sheep to other farmers.
Kiprono believes that selling a ram for breeding is much more profitable than selling it for meat since he can sell a fully grown ram ready to serve for Sh20,000. The same ram, estimated in terms of meat yield, would sell for Sh14,000, given that it can produce about 40 kilos of meat in six months, which sells at Sh350 per kilo.
In conclusion, the Dorper sheep breed has high potential for breeding services and is profitable for farmers in Kenya. However, more breeders are needed to satisfy the growing demand from farmers and consumers. Through collaboration and proper breeding management practices, farmers can make good returns from the Dorper sheep breed.
