[blackbelly] re:ramming rams

[Terry Callahan]

hello list,   I am new to the barbados sheep, and even sheep in general.  So far I have only a three year old ewe, and a 5 month old ram.  From what I have read, and experienced thus far, these sheep are very curious, yet keep their distance.  I had some thoughts in regards to the "alpha male" idea, and the various methods of success and failure in dealing with aggressive rams.  In the wild, being the alpha male means you are the target of all the other males who want your place.  You must constantly prove yourself the "alpha", year after year, confrontation after confrontation.  Hence, it makes sense when I read of these constant and adaptive challenges the rams take in regards to their "alpha male" who happens to be a person.  Also, if they sense a weakness in the "alpha", fear, uncertainty, whatever, they will exploit it.  Herds which are raised pretty much by themselves most likely produce rams which recognize that the human is not a part of the flock, yet merely another animal that apparently means no harm, so they are tolerated.  Bottle feds, on the other hand, may believe humans to be a part, even the leader of the herd, so they treat them accordingly, whether it be aggression, whatever, appropriate to the occasion.    I present myself as no expert, I merely wanted to express my thoughts on the issue.  I find these animals fascinating, and enjoy understanding more of why they do what they do.   With my ram and ewe, I seem to think I have an interesting situation.  The ram is young enough yet that perhaps he thinks the ewe to be the matriarch and seems to let her have the lead at the moment.  However, I see him testing her all the time, with head butting (actually each evening, approx 5 pm).  They have a short bout of this until one yields ground.  So far, he seems to tire of this before she does.  I surmise that as he gets older and larger, the situation will change where he takes the lead of the "herd".   thanks for letting me contribute.   Terry Callahan