[Jacob-list] Re: butting rams

[Katherine Wisor]

  Is it possible that these rams are showing /displaying signs of 
frustration?   I have never separated rams from  their ewes and have 
never in over 30 years of raising sheep  have never seen a ram  be 
violent toward inanimate objects or people .   I have 4 rams in the 
pasture now and none of them  are destructive  or mean , even toward 
strangers.   Dogs are aggressive when tied up all the time, cats stop 
using there litter box when not cleaned , is it possible aggression in 
sheep is also out of frustration toward what they feel is an  unnatural 
condition when separated ?   If they aren't worth breeding I neuter 
them but never separate them .....
  Just a thought....  >Katherine
  On Dec 9, 2004, at 3:48 PM, Melody wrote:

> My ram has started really bashing things in the last year (he is now 
> 3).  A
> real sweetie with me but has almost demolished one side of the chicken
> house, broke off the upright timber by the door of his shed 
> (fortunately the
> other uprights are still holding) and has done major damage to trees by
> butting and hooking them with his horns. He and his wether buddy had 
> about
> half an acre to themselves when this started, and I had put in some 
> "sheep
> toys".  I thought it might stop when I put him in with the ewes, and 
> it has
> to some extent, but he has still all but taken down a couple of  
> smaller
> juniper trees in the ewe pasture.   I keep threatening him but he 
> doesn't
> listen .  I'm going to show him my recipe for mutton stew, up close and
> personal, if he isn't careful!
> Melody at CritterLand
> Redmond OR
>
> Linda wrote
> I had a ram like that.  He was pretty good until he turned two.  He 
> had, in
> his growing up years, made threatening
> moves towards me.  I kept throwing water in his face until he quit that
> behaviour.  But, he then got more and more
> aggressive towards any structure.   You couldn't even walk by outside 
> the
> fence if you were carrying a board without
> him charging the fence.  He wouldn't charge people walking by unless 
> they
> were carrying something.  He put holes in
> every wall he could reach.  I made him a special shelter where he 
> didn't
> have access to the sides.  It had a low roof
> and he began to charge the roof.  That was a sight. He spent his last 
> few
> months with us standing in the rain.  He was
> with his ewes when the behaviour started, so I can't say that he was 
> bored
> or lonely.  He managed to tear one of the
> doors off the trailer on the way to the butcher.  Then managed to 
> knock a
> board almost off the bull pen at the
> butchers.
>
> I wish I could come up with a remedy other than mine.  This ram got
> progressively worse.  I got him soccer balls to
> beat up on, threw in metal garbage cans for him to vent on, nothing 
> ever did
> even slow him down.
>
> Just a note:  I have not seen a higher percentage of aggressive 
> behaviour in
> his descendants.  In fact, some have been
> among the mellowest.
>
> Linda
>
> On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 13:06:11 -0500, Donnangelo,Nicholas C. wrote:
>> My wife and I have a small flock of one breeding group so we generally
>> separate the ram from the ewes in September (we are in northern 
>> Virginia)
> and
>> keep the ram with the ewes until lambing when we remove him again for 
>> a
> month
>> or so.   Anyway our ram - who is now running with the ewes has become
>> increasingly destructive; butting our run in shed until one of the 4x4
>> uprights was actually broken and the structure near collapse.  I 
>> repaired
> that
>> and now he knocked a hole in the plywood wall of the shed.  There is 
>> no
> sign
>> of aggression to any of the other Jacobs, or two full size donkey's 
>> we run
>> with them (although he will take hay from the donkey's at will; 
>> they'll pin
>> their ears at him but he is clearly top dog), or with us.  Horses 
>> will get
>> into trouble if they are bored...  has anyone else had this problem?
>> recommendations?  Thanks Nick
>>
>>
>>
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