You have just decided to get into pedigree sheep. You want something a bit unusual and you don’t want to shear as you are only going to buy a small number. Your herd also needs to be able to pay its way with good carcass values, and be able to survive on little hard feed. It sounds like a tall order, but enthusiasts of one of the UK’s least-known sheep breeds — the British Dorper — think that they have just what you’re looking for.
With its snow-white body and black head, the British Dorper looks like it is poking its head out of a big woolly jumper. This unusual look comes from its ancestry. The Dorper was created in South Africa in 1942 by crossing a Dorset Horn ram with a Blackhead Persian ewe. This created a very meaty, prolific sheep, capable of producing lambs every eight months. Other benefits are that it is self-shedding — so it doesn’t need shearing — and is an excellent, milky mother.The breed only came to the UK in 2004 and, although very common in South Africa and Australia, where they are among the most popular meat breeds, there are just 28 registered breeders in the UK and the British Dorper remains largely unknown.
There is also a White Dorper, which, as the name suggests, doesn’t have the classic black head.
One of the most proactive British breeders of Dorpers is Margaret Hollinrake. She lives high up on the limestone hills above the market town of Bakewell in Derbyshire and I went to meet her and fellow Dorper enthusiast Alison Richards, congregating in Margaret’s cosy stone farmhouse for a chat.
On an early spring day Knotlow Farm is green and pleasant, with a camping site, wooden yurts with barbecue pitches and hot tubs — all the ingredients needed for an idyllic holiday away from the working world. But in the middle of winter it is a bleak and exposed place and the sheep need to be able to deal with whatever the weather throws at them.
Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
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Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy
Tip the light fantastic
The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers
The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs
Buying on a tight budget
As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities
Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century