At Kaya we feel that the breeding of a worm tolerant animal is of great importance in the development of the Dorper and White Dorper breed in Australia.

Fortunately the better sires that we have at Kaya have also been very good for worm tolerance.

Kaya 071209 who was Senior Champion Dorper ram at the 2009 Dubbo National show and is presently the leading Dorper/White Dorper performance tested sire in the Lambplan Dorper “elites”. He is also one of the better performing Dorpers on the WEC showing a figure at present of -ve 58%.

Kaya White 071345 who was Reserve Senior Champion White Dorper ram at the 2009 Dubbo National show is also showing excellent performance data, being ranked 10th on the “elites” and has good figures for WEC.

Kaya White Dorpers achieved the top priced White Dorper ram, a Type 5 2009 sire that has been used extensivley in our stud. This ram was purchased by Back Creek White Dorpers for $13000.

Kaya Dorpers sold 090061, a Type 5 Dorper ram that has also been used in our stud for $4200 and 090400 another Type 5 Dorper sire for $3400.

These rams have performed exceptionally well for Kaya and we wish the new owners the same success.

4th March 2011

The show had over 700 animals presented and the judging lasted 6 days. Congratulations to the Brazilian breeders who in a decade of breeding produced some excellent animals. As with any new breed there is a large variation in quality BUT the best animals would compete anywhere in the world.

I would like to thank publicly, the Brazilian Dorper Society for the invitation and the hospitality extended to me and my family for the duration of our stay.

Johnes disease - As most people would be aware, the current situation with Johnes disease will change in 2011. With this in mind Kaya has joined the SheepMAP (Aust Johnes Disease Market Assurance Program for Sheep). We have completed our first test with NEGATIVE results which as of the 1st Oct 2011 gives us 4 ABC points.

Brucella Ovis - Kaya is an accredited Brucella Ovis flock and has been since our beginnings. Our accreditation number is WAOvac 348 – expiry 10th July 2013.

Dermatosparaxis - Kaya White Dorpers tested all breeding animals in 2007/08 and all breeding stock are now free. Any new Sires or Dams introduced to the stud are routinely tested.

Virulent Footrot - Kaya is virulent footrot free.

Quality Control - At Kaya we are passionate about producing a good product and ensuring that our clients are receiving a product which undergoes as many quality evaluations as possible.

To do this, all Kaya sheep are evaluated using ASBVs through Sheep Genetics Australia and we employ a experienced, qualified inspector to class our sheep before each sale.

This enables the buyer to evaluate performance and to have an independent opinion on the visual qualities of the breeding and sale animals produced at Kaya Dorper and White Dorper.

In the Dorpers and White Dorpers the difference in Sires ranged from -40% to +40%. This means that there is a 80% variation in the Sires on this property. A negative figure is desirable.

Our aim is to produce a Dorper or White Dorper that is resistant to the effects of intestinal parasites which will save costs and labour in drenching and production loss. It is a 10 year project but the initial results are very promising. These results are available as ASBVs on our animals using the Lambplan search website.

We won Junior Champion Dorper ewe, Junior Champion and Reserve Junior Champion White Dorper ewe, and Senior Reserve Champion Dorper ewe and Senior Champion White Dorper ewe plus the Champion White Dorper ewe of the show.

These ewes were all sold at the sale with the Junior Champion Dorper ewe selling for $2700.

Our rams were in the running but did not fair as well as the ewes. In the Dorper heavyweight ram class we were placed 1st and 2nd and we made the finals in all classes that we entered.

I must congratulate the Eastern region on such a well run forum, show and sale and the resulting publicity has been exceptional for the breed.

Much to my delight David and I both passed this exam and we are now eligible to be appointed as inspectors under the South African Society rules. This appointment can only be made by the SA Dorper Society board and we would need to do a number of farm inspections with an experienced inspector.

It has always been my vision to have fully qualified Australian inspectors to enable breeders who want to use the SA Dorper Society more access to inspectors. We are now on the way.