[Jacob-list] Couple of Tips

[Peg Bostwick]

I appreciate all of the ram handling advice - and was especially interested
in the write up from Stonehaven.   I also like rams that are friendly and
easy to handle, and fully agree that the way to achieve that is to assert
dominance.   That doesn't mean that rams are afraid of you, but they should
respect you.

I'd add only a couple of things that we do to these notes.

1)  The suggestions below from Stonehaven suggest that a ram should never be
"hit" because he then learns to hit.   Most of the time this is true.
However, a ram (like a horse) has a very tender muzzle - it takes a lot of
nerve endings to pick out the perfect blade of grass while grazing.  For
this reason, a relatively mild tap on the END of the muzzle (not the front
of the head) can have a big effect on either a sheep or a horse.    While I
like the plan to flip a ram lamb to establish dominance, this is not always
easy or practical.   If a young ram butts or tosses his head at me (even in
play) he gets a (not too hard but firm) rap on the end of his muzzle - open
palm up.   A strong "NO" goes along with this.   That may be all you ever
need - and they will learn the word "no" after a bit.   (I've had to get
between adult rams who were fighting on rare occasions - not my favorite
thing to do or one I'd recommend if there is an alternative - and I usually
yell NO at both of them when approaching.  They react by backing off and
staring at me - at least long enough to give me a chance to remove one or
the other.) 

2)  "Teenagers".   For rams, an animal that is around 9-15 months old give
or take is a teenager in sheep terms, and they often act like one.  That is,
they will challenge authority and do stuff without thinking.   At this
point, some rams forget their earlier manners, and need a reminder.   If the
muzzle rap and "NO" isn't enough after one or two "threats" from the ram, I
suspect that the "flipping" outlined by Stonehaven would be very good.
Alternatively, I will just grab the ram by a handful of wool on either side
of his neck, pick his front legs of off the ground, stare him  in the eye,
and "chew him out" verbally.   The chewing out can be as amusing because of
course it doesn't matter what you say, but the ram must believe that you are
the boss and mean it.   

Some of my more stubborn boys have needed this kind of "reminder"  two or
three times through their first winter, but they eventually settle down.
(If a ram continues to get more aggressive, I agree that the owner should
think hard about whether that is the kind of temperament you want to breed
for...).

3) Halter training, if you have time, is a great way to help establish and
maintain dominance.

4)   Cattle prods??   I've never tried these, but would use with caution.  I
sold a ram to a new breeder many years ago - he was halter trained, and had
been shown - was easy to handle I thought.  But she was afraid of him, and
when he started being aggressive (as a "teenager") - she used a cattle prod.
I don't know how much, but by the time I saw the ram the next year he was
VERY aggressive - hitting at the gate when we came up to the pen, etc.
She would not go in the pen with him without a cattle prod in hand.  I got
in and held him, and he settled down - I honestly think he was as afraid of
her as she was of him.  Not a good situation.   

A calm and respectful ram can be so much fun to have around....  I hope that
all of this helps those who are still trying to learn how to handle the big
boys.    

-Peg



Peg Bostwick
peg at sweetgrass-jacobs.com
517-626-6981


-----Original Message-----
From: jacob-list-bounces at jacobsheep.com
[mailto:jacob-list-bounces at jacobsheep.com] On Behalf Of tim koenig
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 1:25 PM
To: farmgirlarts at triad.rr.com
Cc: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Couple of Tips

Thanks for posting this.  It coincides with everything I had to learn (the
hard way) on my own over the years.

I've only had one, very aggressive, ram, out of a cast of twenty or so over
the years. He would charge from behind.  I'm 230 lbs. and he was almost too
big for me to put on his side. So, I bought a bright yellow cattle prod and
started carrying it when in the pen or field with him.
When he started acting aggressive, (dropping his head, stamping his feet,
false charging, etc.) I would wave the prod in his direction.
The next time he decided to follow through, I tickled him on the nose.
YIPE!! He instantly backed of shaking his head. He only tried me twice more,
over a period of a couple weeks. After that I carried the prod another month
or so, then started carrying a 18" piece of yellow broomstick on my belt. He
never made another threat toward me...or ANYONE ELSE carrying a piece of the
broomstick.

Interestingly, the younger rams saw his behavior, and imitated it even
though they would come to the fence and wait for back scratches.

Thanks for posting this page. I'll be keeping it on file to give to any
future ram buyers.

Tim Koenig
Applegarth Farm



On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:59 AM,  <farmgirlarts at triad.rr.com> wrote:

> I had to trim a wether's horns the other day so I put him up on my

shearing stand. With his head firmly in place, I used a light duty pair of
bolt cutters. With no sawing action used, the wether acted as though nothing
was happening at all. I had to hold the cutters against my chest and pull
towards me for the thicker part. They worked wonders!

>

> Here is a link to some ram handling information:

> http://www.stonehavenfarm.com/page7/toughlove.html

>

> Best to everyone!

> Laura C Frazier

>

> --

>

> Laura C Frazier

> http://www.farmgirlarts.com

> http://www.etsy.com/shop/farmgirlarts/

>

>

> _______________________________________________

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