The Dohne Advantage

The Dohne is a dual purpose Merino developed by the South Africa Department of Agriculture using Peppin-based Merino ewes and German Mutton Merino sires. The breeding program started more than 6o years ago and the progeny were interbred and selected for high fertility and rapid lamb growth and fine Merino wool production under rangeland conditions.

The Dohne today is a well-balanced dual-purpose breed that allows the commercial producer to market both a quality heavy weight lamb and fine-medium white wool. The breed was introduced into Western Australia in 1998 and is now bred in all states of Australia as well as New Zealand.

The Dohne is a naturally polled, plain-bodied sheep and therefore easy care. It has the ability to do well on low quality pasture and is adapted to a wide range of environmental and climatic conditions.

Purebred and crossbred Dohnes can be run as a self-replacing meat-wool enterprise eliminating the need to buy in replacement ewes as with other prime lamb breeds. Purebred ewes produce from 4-6kg of high quality white 18-22 micron wool in the tradition of the great Australian wool clip. They also have high fertility with up to 150 percent lambing not uncommon and slaughter lambs have rapid growth rates (350gm a day) up to weaning and can achieve a marketing weight of 50kg at six months of age.

Quality Assurance

All ram breeding flocks must be registered with the Australian Dohne Breeders Association and use the Dohne breed evaluation system. The association has established a full-pedigree performance evaluation and grading system that accounts for all traits.

The system is based around independent visual assessment combined with the use of total pedigree recording for ewes and rams. The sheep are first visually assessed and weighed at 100 days of age. They are visually assessed by an independent assessor again at 12 months, shorn, body weighed, fleece tested and scanned for eye muscle and fat depth.

All rams are sold with estimated breeding values (EBVs) which, allows buyers to compare the traits of their rams with all Dohne rams bred in Australia. Buyers also receive a Certificate of Authenticity issued by the Australian Dohne Breeders Association. This certificate is your guarantee of purity and records the EBVs for measured and assessed traits of every individual ram.

 

FURTHER INFORMATION Dohne Association Secretary Mr. Rob Martin PO Box 108 Goodwood South Australia 5034 Ph: 08 8210 5230 Fax: 08 8231 4173 Email: robmartin@rahssa.org.au

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