History
THE DOHNE MERINO
The Dohne Merino was developed in South Africa by the South African Department of Agriculture in 1938 at the Dohne Research Facility, hence the name. This was a “one off” cross and progeny were interbred and selected for high fertility, rapid lamb growth, mothering abilities and the production of quality fine merino wool with good processing style. The goal was to breed an animal that could utilize the harsh “sourveld” that prevails in the Eastern Cape of the RSA. The breed became very popular in the RSA and the Dohne Merino Breed Society of SA was formed in 1966 with its head office at Stutterheim. The popularity of the breed spread rapidly and today is farmed in all parts of RSA. The breed was first introduced to Australia in 1998 with the importation of frozen embryos into Western Australia. Further importations into the Eastern States in 1999 and 2000 gave the breed critical mass to establish a formal Breed Society. The AUSTRALIAN DOHNE BREEDER’S ASSOSSIATION was established at Katanning, W.A in 2000. The breed today boasts 220 registered breeders in all sheep breeding states of Australia. The ADBA adopted compulsory performance testing and pedigree recording from its inception. The following economic traits are recorded:
Body weight at weaning and post weaning
Wool Weight at post weaning, Fibre Diameter
Eye Muscle Depth and Fat Depth at post weaning. Raw data is processed using BLUP to produce Estimated Breeding Values for the above traits. This data is used in the selection process of suitable animals for use in Studs and Commercial Flocks. Final selections are executed by a panel of independent sheep classers who undergo training provided by the ADBA. Attributes
The Dohne Merino is a naturally polled plain-bodied sheep with white wool and adult ewes weigh between 50 and 75 Kg. Wool
Dohne wool is free of dark and medullated fibres and is sold as merino wool. Mature animals produce on average 5 to 6 kgs of wool within the micron ranges of 18 to 21 mics. Wool
length at 12 months is in excess of 90 mm with good spinning counts. The breed aims to produce between 5 and 8% clean wool as a percentage of the mature animals body weight. Research in South Africa has shown that wool production levels that fall in this range enhance the animal’s ability to raise healthy, robust lambs and maintain their fertility. This formula has become known as the “wool production potential” (WPP%). Meat
Dohne lambs are ideally suited to the modern trends in red meat consumption, that being a leaner, higher yielding carcass so that the consumer will get more meat for the same price as with other breeds that do not yield as high. Fat distribution is even over the whole carcass and is generally of a fine texture. The animal’s ability to put on muscle as opposed to fat has made the dohne very popular with feedlotters and gains of up to 450 grams per day are already being achieved under lotting conditions. Fertility
In today’s economic climate this is probably the most important trait that drives profit. The greater the fertility the greater the amount of product that one has to sell. In South Africa where the breed has been going for the longest period of time lambing percentages of 120% – 150% are consistently achieved across a wide range of eco systems. It has been recorded in Australia that 10-month-old ewe lambs have achieved 60% lambing percentages with relative ease, effectively giving the animal an extra lamb in her productive life. Where dohne rams have been joined to purebred merino ewes, improvements of between 10 and 20% have been consistently noted. Joining percentages of between 1 and 2% rams have produced above average lambings, this means fewer rams are necessary at mating time, an added saving to the farmer.
