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Van Rooy-Sheep as Breed

1. Hardiness and Adaptability

The South African climate does not always favour the sheep farmer. Droughts make their appearance form time to time; The nutrition value of grazing varies from season to season;   temperatures rise exceedingly high during summer months, while switching over to low ones in the winter time; in addition the sheep farmer’s task is extremely aggravated by diseases and internal parasites.  A breed of sheep, capable of resisting all these difficulties and drawbacks successfully, simply does not exist. In other words the hardiness of a breed is therefore to be judged by the degree in which that particular breed succeeds in facing such circumstances.

In this respect the Van Rooy sheep proves itself admirably. The Van Rooy faces a severe drought successfully, it even  manages to grow and reproduce on the minimum of grazing. Even under the most unfavourable circumstances, the lamb does   not drain the resources of the Van Rooy ewe, owing to her reserves of fat, as is the case with most non fat tailed types. Consequently reproduction is not deterred. The breed offers strong résistance to high temperatures and possesses sufficient   wool covering in between the hair to enable it to withstand cold. It is especially a diseases resistant breed, and is not easily affected by internal parasites as many other breeds. Due to it’s thicker skin, it is also more resistant to diseases caused by external parasites. It stands to reason that these latter problems can never be eliminates altogether and necessary precaution and treatment should not be neglected or disregarded.

There is not a single region in South Africa and Namibia where the Van Rooy sheep can not be successfully kept. The breed flourishes in the high rainfall areas of the Eastern Cape Province, Natal and Low Veld of the Transvaal.  In bushveld areas, as well as in other grassy regions of South   Africa, the breed performs excellently. In the drier parts, where the Van Rooy was bred and developed, it has proved itself time and again.

2.  Fertility

Fertility is one of the outstanding traits that makes this bred popular. The ram is known for being a hard and diligent worker, and it hardly ever happens that a Van Rooy ram becomes inactive or infertile. It is characteristic of the ewe that she has an unlimited mating season.  Consequently she comes on heat and can be served any time of the year. Due to its hardiness, coupled with its ability to hoard energy, and an unlimited mating season, the Van Rooy ewe gets on heat very soon after production, even under most difficult conditions. This brings about that three lambs in two years are rather the rule than the exception.

The ewe is an   excellent mother, taking good care of her young and   producing sufficient milk for rearing her lamb.

3.  Distribution of Fat

It is the aim to breed the Van Rooy sheep with as little concentration of fat as possible on the carcass, with the exception of the rump, and here the tail should not be too big incurring functional inactivity. This localization of fat in the tail serves as a storage for energy, and this storage ensures that the breed is equipped with the all-important requirements of fertility and hardiness in times of adversity.

The Van Rooy accumulates slightly more fat on the carcass than does the non fat tailed type, but it has this advantage that under unfavorable climatic conditions, the minimum layer of fat, required for slaughter purposes, is more easily distributed about the carcass, and consequently  the lamb can be removed from the veld, should inadequate grazing demand such steps.

4.  Cross Breeding

If the aim is cross breeding for “weight on the hook” the Van Rooy can hardly be beaten, if it is used as one of the factors. When the Van Rooy is crossed with any non fat tailed type, whether ram or ewe, the required covering of fat on the carcass is sooner procured than in a cross between two non fat tailed types. As a result of regular reproduction, hardiness and good motherly characteristics, the Van Rooy ewe is very much in demand in extensive regions, where cross breeding, aiming at slaughter lamb production, is practiced.

5.  Conformation

Until quite recently the Van Rooy sheep was known as a flat-sided, long-legged type, without much weight. Today a different picture meets the eye, because breeders have made tremendous progress with regard to this sheep’s conformation. Especially those breeders, belonging to the Association, have now developed a sheep that complies with all the requirements for conformation. This success was only achieved by means of selection and by applying a correct policy of breeding. Today the Van Rooy sheep has excellent mutton conformation, and when the tail is docked, it compares favourably with the best. The meat is of outstanding quality and very palatable.

After paying attention to necessary points of importance the Van Rooy sheep breeders nowadays display a product with sufficient weight, good conformation and a very attractive carcass.

6.  Economy

For the farmer who intends breeding slaughter lambs for the meat market under modern conditions of ever-rising costs, the Van Rooy sheep offers diverse opportunities.

  • The ewe produces regularly – at least three lambs in two years. Consequently a very high lambing percentage is maintained.
  • The ewe is very hardy and adaptable, and additional feeding is hardly ever necessary.
  • Although the carcass is graded a fat-tailed type, and the price per kilograms slightly lower, the skin, on the other hand, lends itself for the production of gloves, and in this   way the loss in price per kilogram is atoned for. As a result of its hairiness, the skin is less liable to be contaminated with grass-seeds.  (Many farmers dock the tails of wether lambs soon after birth, with the result that there is no fat tail to influence grading. In the case of ewes this practice is not encouraged, because very many important and essential breeding characteristics are then sacrificed.
  • The Van Rooy is to a great extend inured to internal parasites and diseases or the consequences thereof. This of course decreases expenses in connection with   labour and medicine. Prevention and treatment of these evils should, however need be neglected altogether.
  • In a recent survey, made by a study-group that made use of the services of a qualified accountant on a Southern Free State town, it was revealed that the Van Rooy sheep rendered the highest yield per small stock unit as well as the highest return per morgen or capital unit.

7.  Factors deterring the development of the Van Rooy breed

At the present moment the numbers of the breed are relatively small, with the result that prospective buyers or breeders find it difficulty in securing sheep of sterling quality.

Because the Van Rooy ewe produces so regularly, there is difficulty in getting hold of ewes that are not in lamb or sucking lambs. These are not easily sold, and the presentation of breeding material consists mainly of unshed ewes. This does not always meet with the approval of prospective buyers of breeders.

The Van Rooy ewe matures sexually at a very early stage, and if precautionary methods are not taken, she produces a first lamb before she is one year old. If this is allowed, her development is not what it should be, and she is definitely no advertisement for the breed. The same applies for young rams, and if they are used too heavily as youngsters, the same results ensue.

Many Van Rooy ewes are crossbred with non fat tailed rams of Karakuls, and are eventually lost for the development of the breed. In these cases the advantages of the breed, such as hardiness and high productivity, are fully realized but utilized to the disadvantage of the Van Rooy breed.

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