Carol J. Elkins
Mon, 25 Jul 2005 12:23:44 -0700
Hi Elaine,Most breeders (but not all) learn that when their ram gets to be somewhere around the age of 2.5 to 3 years, he becomes a danger. Young rams seem to be so much friendlier and tamer than ewes, it is natural to want to respond to their requests for attention. My ram Zane continues to be a perfect gentleman when walking by my side. I can easily catch him and he's much more predictable than one of the wilder rams I have who will jump over or through me in order to escape being penned. But Zane's mission is still to kill me the first chance he gets. In the beginning, I too could flip him over onto his back, beat him on the head, and teach him who was top ram in the flock. He respected that at first, but the duration of the lesson diminished each time it had to be repeated. And my ability to flip a 150-lb ram diminished each year I had to do it. I switched to a cattle prod, which had remarkable effect--in the beginning. But again, over time, Zane grew more tolerant of the shock in his determination to get at me. Now I put my herding dog between Zane and myself at all times. So far, Zane respects the dog, but I notice he's not running as far away from the dog as he used to.
Therefore, I continue to recommend that breeders not make friends with their rams. I believe bummer ram lambs should be handled as little as possible, put in with the flock as soon as the weather permits, and weaned from the bottle as early as their health permits. I'm aware that other breeders have not experienced any problems, but I could not live with myself if I learned that someone was seriously injured because I failed to adequately describe the potential danger that exists when working with rams. Your mileage may vary. A lot depends on the pecking order that a ram grew up in, his relationship to other rams in his current bachelor group, how old he is, and how much breeding he has been allowed to do. Each ram is going to be different, but I see no reason why the old adage "better safe than sorry" shouldn't be the guiding rule. I do not make friends with my rams and I encourage you not to do so either.
Carol At 01:50 PM 7/25/2005 -0500, you wrote:
In reading the response to the Yasha problem from Carol Elkins, you said to not make friends with your ram. Jabari was coming up to me when he was shedding his winter coat and wanting help with its removal. He usually comes up to me at some point when I am in the pen watering, feeding, or picking up poop. He will also come up when I am petting/scratching the girls, and want his head petted. Will I regret this in the future? Would I be much better off in the long run if I curb any petting/scratching of him now? Any input would be welcome.
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