Back Page Backyard The Robinsons of West Swanzey and Their Dorset Sheep

Susan Robinson, and her husband Rich and their two daughters, live in West Swanzey and have been raising Dorper sheep for about 10 years. Robinson's oldest daughter, Victoria, 12, has been showing these sheep in open shows since she was three years old; and her youngest, Vanessa, 8, has been going to shows since she was five weeks old. They have raised over 200 lambs. Could you tell me about Dorper sheep and what makes them different or stand out against other sheep? They are a South African breed that is incredibly great at converting feed to meat. They are a hair sheep, so there is no wool that you have to shear. We do shear for show solely because we need to exhibit their muscle and their meat carcasses. It's a sheep that is raised for meat. It is getting incredibly popular in the U.S., and there is a high demand for them. They tend to be really good mamas. About 90% of the time, they have multiple births. The first year they generally have a single lamb, and then in future years, they give twins or triplets. How much time and care goes into lambing Dorper sheep? Most of them are pretty good at giving birth by themselves. But considering we lamb now in January for show season, we tend to be a little more hands-on because we want to make sure everyone gets up fairly quickly to nurse. We do not use heat lamps, so if they get chilled, that's where we have a bit of a struggle. These Dorper sheep come out, and within 10 minutes, they are on their feet and looking for the teat to nurse. They are very vigorous. What inspired you to decide to raise Dorper sheep? Well, my husband is a third-generation processor. He grew up in a family slaughterhouse. So we were looking for a sheep that could provide meat, but that didn't require a ton of maintenance. I did not want a wool breed that we would have to shear once or twice a year. We wanted a breed that were easy keepers, maintained weight really well, and in all honesty, they are very eye-catching. How did you learn about the animals that you raise? We've grown up with horses and been in 4-H for years, so transitioning to sheep was easy. When we started showing them, I was working with a woman that had raised sheep since she was in 4-H. They helped us immensely, and the sheep showing community is incredibly helpful. If you have any questions, everyone is just a phone call away. What are some of the challenges you face with raising sheep? Sheep are incredibly fun; the kids love them — they all have great personalities. The hardest thing for us is selling them. As we continue to grow, we can't keep them all. It's hard for the kids to let favorites go, but it's a necessary evil. The most challenging thing is that sheep are really good at hiding illnesses, so you really have to know your flock and everyone's personality. Being a prey animal, they tend not to show that they're not feeling well until they are really sick. With your children showing the sheep, do they help take care of them as well? They are completely involved in all aspects. My older daughter does chores twice a day with me. She gets up at 5:30 a.m. and feeds and waters the sheep and the horses every morning. My younger daughter does chores with us every evening, along with my older daughter. It's kind of a family affair. The kids are down at the barn helping get lambs out and nursing and making sure they are dry. They actually get upset if I don't let them help. Right now, since we have triplets, I supplement them a little with a bottle just to make sure they are getting enough while mom's milk fully comes in. So they go down, and they bottle feed the triplets twice a day. They know how to make the formula and feed the lambs. I don't even have any involvement in it usually, which is awesome. What does showing sheep entail? They all need to be taught to walk on a halter and how to be set up. The biggest thing is they are shown walking so the judge can see how they move. They are taught to stand square so the judge can evaluate the confirmation. Anywhere between three and five days before the show, we shear them, they get a bath, and they get blanketed. Then the day before the show, or the day of the show, they are all rewashed and re-blanketed. Our oldest daughter has started to shear her sheep, so she knows how to clip them. Even before the show, we do a lot of evaluation of their feed program so we can make sure they are getting enough feed to reach their potential growth. Some require more; some require less — we shoot for genetics that require less feed. Any tips to someone interested in starting something like this? Find a mentor; that's going to be the best thing. Most breeders will mentor people who buy their sheep. The biggest thing is that sheep are very copper sensitive. They can't eat any feed that contains copper because it will kill them. We always try to educate people beforehand and have people come in and check them out. Some breeds are much quieter. Dorpers tend to be a little loud and a little pushy. We kind of joke that they are the Angus of the sheep world.