[Jacob-list] breeding season over.... rams together?

[Meg Steensland]

In 03, I let my 2 ram lambs be together until and then after breeding and did not have problems being as they were same age and a 2H and a 4H, the latter really became a double 2. The last one of those left for a new home in August in S Columbus, but I had to send the 2H ram to market as he was hitting me every time I tried to get in to feed earlier in 05.
    So, I am starting all over with rams this year.  All 05 lambs.  Have 4 - hope to sell one.  Anyway, they are all busy now.  But I am hoping to manage space so I do not have to put them together or at a minimum, may put the 2H guys only togther.  I have lamas too, so I have separate housing for two males, easily with the two small lama boys.  I have a 2H trailer I used for the first year with cattle panels for 1 lama and 2 rams, so can resurrect that temp housing.  Until hunting season is over, I cannot use the back paddocks for any stock as I cannot trust that citidiots w/guns won't trespass.
   
  I talked to Carl Fosbrink and seems to manage his rams OK in a ram group, however.
   
  I just need to keep my rams happy and not angry so they won't get aggressive with me.  I may need to rotate  ewes in with a ram since I only have 2 available lama studs.
  Anyone try this?    For now, the rams can stay in their breeding groups until mid-March.
   
  
Linda <patchworkfibers at alltel.net> wrote:
          Glad I tweaked your memory :-)  
   
  Any one that has followed this list knows that I very seldom run adult rams together.  I'm abit off the transportation path and even though a ram/ram kill is unusual, it has happened and I do need to use my rams more than one breeding season.  Finding a ram killed by another ram would be, for me, both financially and emotionally upsetting.
   
  Because of our move last year, I don't have the "ram runs" I had set up at the old place here and I did have to put adult rams together last week. I sure had my fingers crossed!  Both Dustin and Chancellor (Leo is still a junior ram) are definitely adult rams, but neither has been a "basher".  Don't get me started about Groucho - aptly named!  I thought I had a pretty good take on the boys' personalities and decided to just open the gates and wait until they noticed each other.  Chancellor, a yearling, was so full of himself and did manage to knock Dustin to the ground with his first charge.  Dustin, a three year old, picked himself back up and established himself as THE ram.  Happily, they established a pecking order quickly.
   
  Linda   
  www.patchworkfibers.com
  Registered Jacob Sheep, Angora Rabbits, Handspun Yarn

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 17:09:25 -0800 (PST), Mary Hansson wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I took the 2 rams out this afternoon and put them with the other 2
> adults here at the place.  All 4 rams were put in a 4 x 6 lambing
> pen.  Writing to Linda a few minutes ago, I remembered they were
> still in there.  It has been raining and is pretty cold outside, so
> I thought I would see if they had cooled off.
>
> They looked like they were cooled down.
>
> Ronan was down with a lateral stuck in a wrung of the lambing jug,
> but otherwise fine.  I opened the fence up so they could get out of
> the 8 x 8 area the lambing jug was in.
>
> Hark just had not cooled off enough yet, and decided that he was
> going to take out Merlin.  Merlin took a couple nasty facial hits
> with Harkäs top horns before his age and fighting experience kicked
> in.
>
> It was fascinating watching him actively size up and assess Hark. 
> In fact, the final hit came after Merlin stopped in mid forward
> running strike.  He stood still for a moment.  He backed up and
> repositioned himself to come in lower than normal.  This was
> effective, and Hark suddenly received a few activated brain cells
> along with a nose bleed.
>
> Mary Ellen
>
>
> Mary Ellen Hansson, MEd, RD, LDN
> ISeeSpots Farm
> Jacob Sheep: Lambs, adults, wool
> www.iseespots.com


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