[Jacob-list] rams are not toys or pets

[Mary Hansson]

Hi everybody,
 
When I have homeschoolers out to the place, I remind the visitors that they can put their hands on the fence and even pet the girls.  They are not to touch the fence and most certainly not to touch the boys.  The line I use with the young ladies in the group (with dads present as often as possible with a sly wink) is "never, ever trust a man".  Everybody gets a good laugh, but the bottom line is a take home message that rams are NEVER EVER to be trusted, they are dangerous and never to be made into pets, and even the most docile and sweet-natured ram has hormones that control his responses to his environment and those hormones can create an animal that will kill.  
 
A visibly aggressive ram has an extremely short life expectancy at my farm.  Wife-beating rams are also among this group.  Aggressive rams tend to produce similar traits in a larger percentage of their offspring.  Very calm-natured rams tend to produce offspring with more docile traits.  Both sit on the table equally as well and the docile ones don't cost individuals, medical insurance companies, or the undertaker large bills.
 
Just in case you doubt that rams can kill, there are a pair of graves here in NC from a couple springs ago when an older couple made the mistake of going into their pen and not coming out.  They were found by their children.

My ewes leave me bruised on a regular basis with behavior I would never tolerate in a ram.  You might ask what the difference is.....  1.  I don't need eyes in the back of my head.  2.  They are not ever likely to break a bone or kill any member of my family,  3.  The bruises are not caused out of aggression but out of enthusiasm for their shepherd.
 
Now.....CAN ewes hurt you?  ABSOLUTELY.  I have been incredibly lucky 3 different times when I was not paying adequate attention and not thinking ahead to the sheep's reactions.  All three times, I was hit within 2 inches of my eyes by a horn.  The first time by a curve on a 2 horned ewe, and the other two times by the top horn of a 4-horned ewe.  All hurt.  All could have cracked my thick skull.  All were WAY TOO CLOSE to my eye for comfort and could have produced irreparable results.  
 
Mary Ellen


Mary Ellen Hansson, MEd, RD, LDN
ISeeSpots Farm
Jacob Sheep:  Lambs, adults, wool
www.iseespots.com
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