Garland or Beth Stamper
Wed, 03 Aug 2005 15:50:00 -0700
Hi all, I currently have one adult ram, Andy, who I've had since he was 6 mos old. I kept him out of a group of rams I acquired last fall. Out of the 8 rams, we butchered 3, sold 4 to a broker and I kept Andy. He was my first sheep...EVER!! He was soooooooo cute! Of course, I made all the mistakes of making him too familiar. He lived in an old chicken house with indoor and outdoor areas but he was by himself. Of course, he soon began to look to me for company. He was so timid that it was a challenge to me to "tame" him. (Oh brother!! you are all saying while you shake your heads! <G>) Do you know how much sheep love kale leaves?? <G> Anyway, he learned to walk on a collar and lead rope and I would "high line" him between two trees so he could get out and browse the weeds and grass. My neighbor, Sue, was so entertained but thought I had totally lost it!! As Andy grew up he became very "busy" at night...bashing the boards of his house...at 4:00AM!! This had to cease...I knew he was suffering being alone so....this spring we acquired a dozen more BB sheep. Andy was thrilled...in hog heaven...totally adopted the 4 ewes and their babies. It is amazing. The babies sleep curled up against him. I hope he has bred the ewes. He is now about 14 months old and still very respectful but...every day I deal with the sheep I expect him to start to challenge me. I know it's just a matter of time. What I don't need is this ram with a beautiful set of horns bashing me in one of my knees that are waiting for replacement surgery this winter. I am forever thankful for the latest discussions/advice about ram behavior. I am really careful now to not take my eyes off of him when I'm feeding, etc. I won't be taming any more rams...I'll save that for wethers & ewes from now on. I would imagine that rams are like young stallions when they turn 5 or 6. About that time, young stallions are teenagers and in the wild they would be seeking mares to set up their own bands. Young rams at the age Carol mentioned...2.5 to 3 years sound similar. Time to get serious about procreating. I think I'm going to talk to the vet about surgically castrating Andy. That way he might never get to the aggressive state. He could then take the young rams and be their pal. A couple of the baby rams are really nice and one of them can be the next herd sire. Beth in OR _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info mailing list Visit the list's homepage at Blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info@lists.blackbellysheep.info http://lists.blackbellysheep.info/listinfo.cgi/blackbelly-blackbellysheep.info