[Jacob-list] rams

[Betty Berlenbach]

All my rams are together.  From late October until early May, they are in a smallish paddock, surrounded by electronetting, woven wire 5' tall fence, and a second electronet, fences generally about 6' apart.  They have a shed.  GEnerally, there are two shetland rams, two or three jacob rams, two great big ol' romney cross type wethers, and whatever, if any freezer lambs haven't made it to the freezer by then, which is rare.  This year, since I "inherited/acquired" a flock of shetlands, there were four new rams/ram lambs added recently, who still haven't made it to the butcher.  The only fighting happened between the older, mature, dominant type rams: once, four years ago, the shetland ram of those days being dominant, attacked and killed a new ram I had bought (Jacob) after separation from breeding.  Generally, however, my old stand-by Jacob ram has lowered his head and agreed that the shetland is king, from day one.  Now, with new shetland ram for past 3 years, he still remains king.  Lance has been sold (Jacob ram) and there are a new shetland (added two years ago and so far smaller than the big one that although there was one session of initial head butting, now there's just a playful butt without locomotion every once in  a while, if the younger shetland gets uppity.  As for the jacobs, there are three: two "rising ram lambs" not quite a year old, and one smaller rising to two years in the spring.  There is no way on earth they willchallenge the shetland, which is smart.  Before breeding, while the girls were running near the rams, and Lance hadn't yet been sold, there was a slight altercation between big ol' shetland, Ramsay, and Lance, biggest jacob.  It consisted of two or three standing butts, and one back up three feet and butt, and then Lance remembered it was not worth it fighting with those pugnacious imbeciles, and quit.  

In May, the girls and their babies, 1-2 months old, go out on pasture as soon as there is any, far from the boys, and the boys live in rotated pastures within the two plus acre area close to the house, which includes the winter quarters.  The winter quarters are cordoned off and they roam the other paddocks.  When the ram lambs are 3 months old, as a group, they leave their mothers and go in with the rams.  If I do this as a group, there is generally no problem.  The little shetlands follow ramsay around, awe inspired.  The little jacobs followed Lance around, ditto.  This year, with three jacob rams, all basically the same size, though one is older, it remains to be seen which they follow.  The wethers act as buffers,and when that fails, the sheep-cats we have have an uncanny way of jumping in and creating a distraction (for some reason, all the sheep will immediately leave any activity except eating grain and follow a cat) and the harassed lamb moves away.  (These are cats who came to us at five weeks old, were immediately put with the sheep --I know, bad move, but I didn't know that then, and we've all survived, no one was pregnant for a while, and they generally leave the pasture to poop in the gardens nearby where the dirt is more attractive than grass or hay.  They sleep, even now, on the backs of the sheep for warmth, and in summer, they keep the jacobs' faces clean, both comical to watch.)  This is an important thing to do (ram lambs in with big guys) not for the jacobs so much as the shetlands, who are poster children for codependents anonymous, meaning they are in your lap, face, cuddling from day one or two, and even if mama says no--they seldom listen to mamas--and are very hard to resist.  However, if they are put in with dads at 3 months, they soon take on the dad's attitudes about humans, become more reserved, and avoid human contact.  If left with the mamas, they, of course, become hostile and aggressive rams by two years old, or so I've observed with the whole three or four ram lambs I've had, among a group of girls who seem to feel that producing ewe lambs is much more preferable.  I don't disabuse them of this tendency, which is profitable for me.  I have never had an agressive to the point of butting or threatening jacob ram. Whether that is because they are all too smart to try for king, when there's a shetland in there, who will never give up and back down (Napoleon thing) or what, I don't know.