I believe that you do not have to breed different types of Dorpers for different conditions. If your type of dorper is right, you should be getting better reproduction as the environment the sheep finds itself in improves.

With this in mind we strive to breed adaptable Dorpers who have the ability to reproduce under natural conditions when the going gets tough. This is also a later maturing sheep, which only makes sense to me, as this type of sheep has the ability to keep on growing when conditions are tough. These sheep also has the ability to have a lamb ready for market under less favourable conditions.

Whereas early maturing sheep (short legged) needs to have an excellent environment for the first two months after birth in order to reach a good slaughter weight or a good mature weight. This can be costly when it is dry.

At West Front we prefer the more rangy type, not long legged, we prefer to call them stretched. These stretched sheep have the ability to explode under good conditions and also keep on growing under less favourable conditions.

The most important selection criteria is fertility and the ability to raise a lamb. Second to reproduction is function.  Good sound structured legs and good muscling in the top line is what our selection is based on. We also run our stud animals the same way as we run our commercial flock.

This is why our sheep do well where ever they go and that is why you cannot afford not having West Front Genetics.