[Jacob-list] Ram Behavior

[Johann Kuntz]

I'm unsure why you would want to force the sheep into the barn.  If they have plenty of grazing in the field and don't feel the need to come in then they should be fine.  Unless of course you have to lock them up for safety reasons such as if you have predators stalking about at night.  My sheep don't seem to care for the water I put out for them.  They will occasionally sniff it and then leave it alone.  They do however readily drink water if they find it where it has naturally collected in shallow dishes left on the ground.  Do you have anything lying around the field that could be collecting water?  If so your sheep may be drinking from that instead of the water you put out for them.  If you really want your sheep to start coming into the barn again when you shake the grain then it sounds like you're gonna need to introduce the ram to it.  I get the feeling he's not accustomed to getting grain.  I am not advocating that you give him grain, but it is your choice.  If you leave the bowl of grain in the field near the sheep it is quite likely that they will find it.  Once the ram gets a taste for it you can start moving the bowl closer to the barn each day until the ram can make the association that coming to the barn will get him grain.  Again, I'm not saying I think it's a great idea, but if you really want to be able to use the grain to get them all into the barn you might try this method or something similar.  Let me know if it works for you (if you try it).  In my experience rams do become more aggressive when given grain.  I would never advocate letting a ram eat out of a container that you are holding as they are likely to (in my experience) hit the container to knock out the grain so you can't take it away.  Try to put the bowl of grain on the ground when the sheep come near so the ram doesn't get used to trying to get the grain from you.  I'm not saying that nobody has ever safely hand fed a ram, but it is very risky so I would advise against it unless you have a fence between you and him.

Johann

p.s.  If you look through the jacob list archives you will find a lot of good information about ram behavior.  

From: heinsy72 at q.com
To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:09:04 -0500
Subject: [Jacob-list] Ram Behavior








I'm hoping to get some input on Ram behavior.  I'm new to breeding sheep and have purchased a Jacob ram.  I have 2 horses, 1 pony, 5 Jacob ewes, 2 Jacob wethers and my Jacob ram in a pasture.  Since I have let the ram loose with the rest of the flock, they no longer come in to the barn area.  The Ram keeps the flock out to pasture and will not let them come in.  Before I had my ram, I could always get the flock to come in by shaking a bowl of corn.  Now they put their heads up like they want to but if they start to make a move towards the barn, the Ram chases them back into flock.  There is still plenty of grass for them to feed off.  A concern I have is they don't even come in for water.  I'm assuming the morning dew is plenty of water for them to survive since they never really drank much before anyways.  I don't think there is a problem with them and the horses because the horses spend a lot of time out near them and they don't come in away from them.  They stand together and eat without any issues.  Is this normal behavior or should I force them into the barn area and lock them in?  They don't even come into the barn out of the rain like they did during the summer.  Is there anything I should be concerened about?  		 	   		  

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