[Jacob-list] Rams together

Mon Dec 5 21:04:56 EST 2005

Last night I went out about after 1AM to check the barn and counted 11 where there should have been TEN.  A ewe abondoned was hollering, so I knew Rudy had escaped her custody and gotten in to the main breeding pen. There was no havoc but I decided to get him out anyway because I did not want Frank and Rudy fighting or ewes hurt.

    I had been using graham crackers as a means to get their attention and I was able to lure about half out of the pen with crackers and Rudy went directly to "his" correct pen to get his crackers.  No shouting - no panic.  Others went back in the main pen and got crackers too.  Rudy had a loose lateral that I think is healing now.  Rudy is very well mannered, having been trained by his momma and her mentor Lissy.  Before I moved him to the blue barn, I had Lissy train him to go into a mini-barn at the road pasture to eat when I entered the pasture - then, I could shut him and Lissy in with feed and proceed to feed the other 10 there at a more liesurely pace without having to watch my back.  After I moved Rudy, I had to get Lissy to train his substitute Nelson to go into the minibarn too and it only took 3 feedings!  I also have used Lissy as the first sheep I introduce baby lamas too as she seem to be able  to read my mind.

  I also have one ewe Spahr Farm Ramona  that thinks she is smarter than I am and I am happy to let her think that as she is extremely alert to anything new.  She is the one pictured with the guineas in the newsletter a while back and she had a gorgeously colored 2H ram this year.  This guy is a mild mannered guy like Nelson and Rudy.  If she has a ewe, it will be interesting to see if she is sweet or wild/alert.

  Someone said they like to go and sit with the girls - and that is a reason to remove rams ASAP.  Well, I like to go and sit with them too - not something you can tell just anybody - I have a stone bench in the pasture by the road to sit and watch.  Only safe with ram out, tied or in the mini-barn.  In he barn I use a plastic stool I can lift over and pull out when done.  I have learned not to leave stools in as sheep can get into trouble with such things and I once jhad a lama try to wear a canvas folding chair after she finished eating the hay off it.  After she got the chair on, she proceeded to charge around the back pasture herding the sheep ahead of her.  She shook it off in a heap as if to say "here's your dumb whatever" before I could get her trapped to take it off.
  Last time I put a folding chair in the pasture!  Also found it's nott safe to leave canvas hay bags in with horned sheep - fortunately bag and not sheep was damaged.

ARTHUR PARTRIDGE <aztreaz at earthlink.net> wrote:
  --Cheryl wrote:
>My experience has taught me to work in odd numbers whenever possible --
this way, each 
>ram has two others (or more) to size up, which is better than going head
to 
>head with one another.
=========
I'm thinking the same way. I have to introduce an intact ram lamb to the
rest of the group after this season's breeding. He will have to face the
old ram, two old adult wethers and two adult castrated rams. Probably a
mix of personalities and temperaments. I'm certain all the adult males
will quickly put the young'un in his place. The ram lamb will also have
two pals, wethers, that are his age. I'm hoping that when I let him and
his ewes out with the others, the confusion (chaos) will keep everyone from
getting harmed. Next year when the ram lamb is an adult I will try the
small pen idea, if I can get all the adult males in there.
Cathy

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