HISTORY OF CROOKED SKY RANCH

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Crooked Sky Ranch is a sheep ranch where we raise registered Full Blood and Pure Bred Dorper sheep.  A little history; it all began in Tuscaloosa, Alabama as Dorper Fields Farm. The property around the farm of over 260 acres was acquired by Lisa's Grandfather, Mr. William Brandon Rainey, during the depression years where cotton and cows were raised. After the passing of Mr. and Mrs. Rainey the property was passed to Lisa's parents and three uncles. Billy and Lisa acquired 25 acres from her parents in 2016. With the land, came the idea for a farming enterprise and the idea simply delighted Lisa, as she had grown up always wanting a farm. After much prayer and research, the animal and breed settled upon was the Dorper Sheep. In July 2017, with the purchase of 21 registered full-blood and pure-bred ewes from Ronnie and Michael Martin of M & M Dorpers, the farm venture began. In November 2017 the breeding began with the purchase of a registered full-blood ram with Powell genetics from Elceed Farms and the first official lambing would happen May 2018. 

 

In June of 2021, Lisa had dreamed of living out west, so the adventure moved west to Cortez, CO where Crooked Sky Ranch began at the foot of Mesa Verde National Park, where we also Super Host a 5 Star AirBNB. Crooked Sky Ranch sits on 40+ acres with 360 degree vistas surrounded by Conservation Easements and 54,000 acres of National Park lands. You will also find chickens to supply fresh eggs, horses to ride and you can't have sheep without good Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGD) and we have three Turkish Akbash LGDs, Winston, Samson and Kush. 

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FEED & LAMBING

 

All of our flock have access to open pasture and grass hay on the ranch. Pasture fields are rotated to best utilize grass growth and help control parasites. Sheep are dewormed only on an as needed basis using the FAMACHA system.

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Nursing ewes are supplemented with alfalfa/grass hay. Replacement stock is also supplemented with alfalfa/grass hay as needed. Lambs are creep fed on local grain and once weaned, they are on pasture and given grass/alfalfa hay when needed and all sheep have free choice mineral mix.

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Pregnant ewes are relocated to the small pasture closest to the barn to be carefully monitored day and night. Once they have lambed, they are then moved into individual pens (lambing jugs) in the barn to insure maternal bonding and a healthy start.

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NO CHEMICALS, HORMONES OR ANTIBIOTICS ARE FED TO OUR SHEEP. We utilize rotational grazing, practice good animal husbandry and soil health and respect the blessing God gave us. We are not ‘certified’ organic, but we pride ourselves in all-natural practices in everything we do. We believe the same healthy lamb we raise for our family should be the same trustworthy lamb we make available to you and your family.

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We lamb 3 times a year, March, July, and November, giving us lambs year round. This lambing schedule permits our two teams of ewes to lamb 3 times in a 2 year period.

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THE BREED

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Dorper Sheep

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​Hardy and Adaptable – Dorper Sheep are highly adaptable and do well in harsh, extensive conditions as well as in more intensive operations.

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Excellent Maternal Qualities – Ewes are excellent mothers and heavy milkers. Lambs are vigorous and have high survivability.

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Long Breeding Season – Dorpers are non-seasonal or have an extended breeding season. They can easily be managed to produce three lamb crops in two years.

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Reproductive Efficiency – Dorpers are very fertile and prolific. Lambing rates of 180%-200% can be achieved per lambing.

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Pre-potency – Dorper sheep cross well with commercial ewes of other breeds and as terminal sires produce fast growing, muscular lambs.

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Non-Selective Grazers – Dorpers are excellent converters of a wide range of forage types and they excel in grazing or weed control operations.

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Heat and Insect Tolerant – Because of their Blackhead Persian origin, Dorpers have natural tolerance to high temperatures and heavy insect populations. They are productive in areas where other breeds barely survive.

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The Dorper Breed Origin

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The Dorper breed was developed out of necessity. During the early 1930’s, South African farmers exported a surplus of mutton and lamb, from the fat tailed indigenous breeds, to London’s prestigious Smithfield Market. The carcasses were rejected because the European consumers were accustomed to the high quality New Zealand Canterbury lamb.

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The South African Meat Board took on the challenge of producing a meat sheep breed that would produce a higher quality carcass and yet, thrive under arid to semi-arid conditions. A breeding project was finalized in 1946 and the Dorper earned a prominent place in the history of South African agriculture. In 1950, the South African Dorper Breeders’ Association was formed. According to Dr. Q. Campbell in his book “Making Money with Mutton Sheep”, “One of the most successful crosses of exotic rams bred to adapted ewes proved to be the Dorset Horn X the Blackhead Persian”.

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The Blackhead Persian sheep, a hardy, fat-tailed desert breed from Arabia, brings to the Dorper its hardiness, thriftiness, adaptability, pigmentation and hair covering. It also brings remarkable fertility, with the ability to breed every eight months and to produce a high number of twins. In addition, the Persians have very valuable skins used in the production of fine leather products. The Dorset Horn rams crossed with Blackhead Persian ewes produced fast growing and heavily muscled lambs yielding very satisfactory economic returns under a variety of environmental conditions. The Dorper ewes from this cross were excellent mothers that could be bred in any season.

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In the early 1950’s, a controversy arose concerning black markings vs. a pure white sheep. Some breeders preferred a white sheep, called the Dorsian, while others chose to select for confirmation rather than color and use the black markings as their trademark. In 1964, the controversy was settled when the blackhead and white Dorper breeders united into one association calling the black head sheep Dorpers and with the unmarked being called White Dorpers.

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The modern day Dorper is numerically the second largest breed in South Africa with over 10 million head (over 1/3 of the total number of sheep). In recent years, the Dorper has become popular in the Middle East, China, Canada, Australia, South America, Mexico and the United States, where it is among the fastest growing breeds.

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​We chose the Dorper breed as it is a fast-growing meat-producing sheep and an easy-care animal that produces a short, light coat of wool and hair that is shed in late spring and summer. Because it is a meat breed, it is more mild than wool breeds because they have much less lanolin in their skin. The breed is well adapted to survive in the arid extensive regions of South Africa so it is well adapted for the Colorado Four Corners Region.

 

We are excited and blessed to have this opportunity.

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The Breed Standard from the American Dorper Sheep Breeders' Society Website:

​Click on the link:

http://dorpersheep.org/breed-standards/

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