How He Raises Hundreds of Dorper Sheep in a Harsh, Remote Village - The Dorper King

Every hour What I'm proud of is breeding quality Like this hill isn't bred by It's not from an imported dam It comes from a hill where we locally developed it We use different rams but when it comes to breeding we introduce one ram at a time We keep a ram with the flock for 34 days then remove him Then another one we add another ram for another 34 days completing a cycle of 64 That marks the end of our breeding season We refer to it as perhaps Season One Then we wait another two months then we introduce them again And for this flock we have around 200 eggs that are mature So we don’t breed them all at once because we also don’t want to risk diseases creeping in like blue tongue should the weather change They could wipe out the entire lamb flock possibly before they're vaccinated against bluetongue So we do it in phases The reason we came to this place was to cut down on uncertainty especially when the flock was growing—we wanted to at least reduce the cost of feeding It's like here we lease the land then we graze We only do that—we don't feed any supplements So we wanted at least to reduce the cost of feeding them Right now we have a doper sheep one with a white head and one with a black head We also have goats As you can see there are goats within this flock We have Savannah goats mixed with regular goats resulting in crossbreeds So we've removed the goats' bucks and the rams for the sheep for breeding purposes They aren't here because we plan to introduce them in May so they can lamb from August to September when the weather is dry We want to avoid the rainy season That's why you don't see the rams here Recently we had rams from South Africa We brought them in December along with the bark They haven't started breeding yet because we plan to breed them in May That's why you've seen the vast majority of the flock are ewes We don't have any rams here I began this breeding journey in 2017 with crossbreeding Later I developed a passion and interest in breeding dopers Also goats Yeah it's been a great journey We've enjoyed every moment It's fun and it's also profitable So if anyone wants to get started it's a sound business opportunity It's a promising venture If you plan to raise them on zero grazing or free range they're tough animals They can easily adapt to any feeding schedule So we've been on this journey for about seven or eight years now We're doing well have no regrets and as you can see our sheep are in excellent health They are very healthy and you can also see they are thriving That is the most enjoyable part of being a farmer If you're planting the seeds that's where the real excitement lies These others are investments Then the lambs are your interest And I think we 're doing well We don't face many challenges And we've already mastered them So we're doing it now at a higher level How are you Ike I'm fine Thank you We met again at the show Yeah And I saw you picked up several awards Yeah But I 'm surprised Last time were in town it was zero grazing Now we're on free range Man They're doing well Really Yes I'm actually trying to picture it I used to imagine things like that before We're raising sheep We're encouraging farmers to raise sheep too Yeah But most of these farmers can only afford this Yeah This kind of farming So I was wondering can those sheep adapt But today you've given me the shock of the day Yeah Congratulations Thank you very much Where are we We're in Naro County Yes A place known as Lulunga Yeah This is where we are To see how they do it Basically we wanted to reach all of our farmers Those who opted for free-range and zero-grazing systems Yeah As we mentioned regarding zero-grazing they performed exceptionally well And now you can see they're also thriving on free range Good Yeah Now that you're a pro You know I always tell my followers In Kenya Yeah When you think about dopers Honestly this is my advice for you Ike is my friend Over time he's actually encouraged me to keep a few dopers Now I think I have six I wish you the best Yeah And if you're considering entrepreneurship whether in farming or education Ike is the place for you Yeah Given your expertise could you walk us through the vaccination program Yes They have So if a follower wants to get a sheep from you what should she or he do The lambs you can go on in terms of vaccination Yeah And just like now when we arrived at this spot in Eldoret we used to administer a single vaccine Joffa Claws and Toxpra But when we arrived at this location we discovered there was a Pluta outbreak a hoof disease and foot-and-mouth disease Wow the work is amazing I totally enjoy it—my favorite the one you showed me last time the white one the white sheep the A How are they doing You were telling me you expected them to improve and they're doing well—well it's just that inside this sheep you know when the blackheads are more prominent Yeah they vanish—now they're around 30—oh how are you making the comparison