[Jacob-list] horns

[swalla2 at juno.com]

Hi everyone,

I have been very interested in everyone's style of when/if to wether and
to dock tails.  And it is very interesting to read how things are done in
the UK.  There seems to be a lot of government regulations there.  

My husband's family have been raising sheep for probably 20 years and
they have been friends with a farmer who is in his 80's and just got out
of raising sheep about 2 years ago.  They (and we) dock the tails leaving
about 2" to 4" using bands and we castrate, using bands also, after the
testicles have dropped.  I have never really counted how old the lambs
were, but you certainly don't have to wait too long. We probably band the
testicles around 4 weeks old.  We have never had any vertebrae from the
tail surgically removed and have never heard of this before.  It doesn't
sound very practical and farmers tend to be very practical with their
animals.

Last year is the first year that we bought a ram - usually we rent one,
but last year we couldn't find one to rent because I have gotten into
Jacobs and there aren't many Jacob farmers around our area.  The ones we
did find were reluctant to part with their ram for a couple of months. 
We only have three ewes and it is going to be interesting housing a ram
for a whole year.  He is very "pushy."  Luckily he only has two horns,
otherwise I would be afraid to go in the pen with him.  The two wethers
(corriedaleX) we had last year are in the pen with him and are very timid
around him.  

We bought a ewe at the same time that we bought the ram and we have been
having a dilemma with her.  She has four horns.  One of them hooks
forward and she uses it to push the other ewes around.  She lambed a
couple of weeks ago and we penned her and her lamb together but still
within site and touching distance of the rest of the sheep.  Just over
this past weekend we rearranged the barn so that the ram and wethers had
their own pen and the ewes were all together again with the one lamb. 
She has re-established her dominance in the flock and the other two ewes
are afraid to eat at the feeder with her.  My husband wants to get her
de-horned.  While part of me is apalled at the thought, another part of
me doesn't want the other ewes to miscarry (they aren't due to lamb until
late April because we got a ram so late and she came to us already bred)
because she butts them.  Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences
for me?

Shari Walla
Walla's Wooly Buggers Farm
Washington, MI
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