[Jacob-list] rams are not toys or pets

[A J Kramer]

As has happened with so many of you, I also have had times when one of 
my rams fulfilled his name resulting in bruises on my part.  While I 
love my sheep, I do have to say that I am being swayed over to Alpacas.  
A friend asked us a year or so ago to care for his small herd of 
Alpacas.  So far, there have been no injuries to anyone by either males 
or females.  They are such a gentle animal.  As for the spitting, it 
rarely occurs, can usually be missed by ducking, and always washes off.  
The fleece from these creatures is heavenly.  As I get a bit older, I 
may well move more towards Alpacas as a fleece animal to raise and buy 
wool from others.  Just another point of view.
Mary in Bear River, WY

Mary Hansson wrote:

> 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