The performance of the Dorper and Dorper X Red Maasai sheep

Data on 1199 lambs collected over a 10 year period (1978 to 1987) on Dorper and Dorper X Red Maasai sheep at Ol'Magogo were used in this study. Lamb traits studied were weights from birth to yearling and absolute growth rates between adjacent stages of growth. In general, crossbred lambs performed better than their counterpart pure Dorpers. The Dorper X Red Maasai crosses performed significantly better than pure Dorpers in three traits namely: six months weight, twelve months weight and growth rate between weaning and six months. This superiority may be attributed to the adaptability of the Red Maasai sheep combined with the inherent fast growth rate in Dorper sheep.