OUR ORIGIN

Grants Dorpers purchased their first frozen White Dorper embryos from South Africa in 1995.  White Dorpers were selected due to the belief that they would sire lambs with more color uniformity when used on commercial ewes of various breeds.  This proved to be true.  After the extensive Canadian quarantine and shipment of the recipients to the United States the lambs were born in 1996.  Two different rams were represented.  Additional purchases were made in 1997 and 1998 with lambs born in 1998 and 1999.  Six different rams were represented from two different breeders.

To increase the number of females we have embarked on the grading-up program established by the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society.  We initially crossed White Dorper rams with a group of extended breeding season, highly fertile, percentage Friesian ewes.  Resulting females have been crossed with unrelated White Dorper rams to breed toward American Purebreds at 7/8 ewes and 15/16 for rams.

Our purebred sheep have been maintained as commercial sheep with the exception of being kept close to home to minimize predation losses.  Grass or alfalfa hay has been used to supplement short pastures.

Copyright 2000 by Darrol & Irene Grant