[Jacob-list] foot stomping

[Robin Lynde]

Halter broken doesn't necessarily mean friendly. I tie them on a halter for 15-30 minutes a day for  a few days to a week. That doesn't mean they will lead like a dog, but at least then I can tie them up and they don't fight the halter and thrash around. Whether you're working with rams or ewes, if they are not friendly enough to be caught easily it is best to move them into smaller and smaller areas until you can catch them without it being a rodeo. To catch my rams I use hinged panels that I can move until they are trapped in a corner.

The two yearling rams I have right now have never threatened me but I still use the measures I have described to work around them. I take that back. I had one in a smaller pen for a few days. I was going to move him out and had to undo a chain that was holding a panel in place. The only way to release the chain was to bend over to reach it. I was on the outside of the pen but that ram saw when I bent over and bashed the panel right where I was standing. The bent over position was enough to make him decide to bash me (fortunately I wasn't right next to the panel).

Robin Lynde
Meridian Jacobs
Vacaville, CA 
www.meridianjacobs.com 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: im rapunzil 
  To: aztreaz at earthlink.net ; Jacob List 
  Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2010 12:19 PM
  Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] foot stomping


  This thread has been very interesting and educational to me.  I have a question though - how can a ram be afraid of people but yet be halter broke?  Then how do you get a halter on him?  Especially with those huge horns.......

  You live by writing your poems on a farm
  and call that farming.



   
  > From: aztreaz at earthlink.net
  > To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
  > Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2010 09:58:13 -0700
  > Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] foot stomping
  > 
  > When I need to go in the wether/ram pen I carry a wooden baseball bat. 
  > Never had to use it and I don't threaten anyone with it. I just carry it. 
  > The ram gets a halter put on to take him to the ewe pen for breeding. I
  > try and not handle him much at all, I don't feed him any treats by hand....
  > except a slice of bread, rarely. I do slip up once in a great while and
  > give him a quick scratch under the chin and tell him how wonderful he is. 
  > I really shouldn't do that, according to the ram experts, but I do...
  > 
  > Cathy
  > Moscow, Idaho
  > 
  > 
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