[Jacob-list] Foot Stomping

[Johann Kuntz]

Robin,

The stick method is one I forgot about.  I don't often use it myself, but it is pretty good for protecting oneself.  I agree that the foot stomping and staring is a challenge to the ram, but I intend to stay at the top of the pecking order with my ram which is why I do it.  I've just found it to be one area where the ram can't compete with me.  Of course with an overly aggressive ram this may not have the same results so I guess one must really know their ram(s) to know if this will work for them or not.  For me it works very well.  Your method of halter breaking them and not messing with them often sounds pretty good too.  In my situation the ram is currently with the ewes, and they roam an area that I have to pass through frequently.  My ram actually is very nice and likes me to scratch his head, but on occasion he will act like he's gonna try hitting me.  It's then that I stomp my foot at him.  That usually sends him running.  :)  The ram I had before him was more aggressive and I couldn't be so friendly with him, although the foot stomping still worked.  However I also had to move towards him quickly while stomping my feet.  It would always make him turn away, but he is one that I also preferred to use a stick with to block myself just in case.  With my last ram I didn't originally try staring him down either, but I started running into problems with aggression.  When I read about looking a ram in the eyes and waiting until they look away first I tried it on him and found it to greatly reduce his aggression towards me.  These are just my observations though, and I'm sure my methods aren't for everyone.  Everyone must assess their own situation and decide what is best for them.

Johann

From: rlynde at onramp113.org
To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2010 08:27:44 -0700
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Foot Stomping










My opinion is that stomping at a ram and staring him in 
the face will be construed as a challenge to some rams and is quite dangerous. 
Here is what I do with rams.  I halter break the ones that I'm going to 
keep just so that they can be tied when needing to work around them. I 
don't have anything to do with them other than that. They are not with 
the ewes except during breeding. They don't get handled unless I have to deworm, 
trim feet, etc. The ones that are aggressive are butchered. Even though the 
adult rams I have now are OK I don't go in the ram pen without a stick of some 
kind (pvc pipe, crook, etc) and I don't turn my back on them. I also don't stare 
them down.
Robin Lynde
Meridian Jacobs
Vacaville, CA 
www.meridianjacobs.com 

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: 
  Johann 
  Kuntz 
  To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
  Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 10:50 
  PM
  Subject: [Jacob-list] Foot Stomping
  
I'm just curious as to whether other people do what I do.  
  Sometimes my ram gets that "I'm gonna hit you and see what you do" look about 
  him.  When he does I stomp my foot at him and he backs off.  
  Sometimes I stomp once, and sometimes I stomp two or three times while 
  stepping towards him.  This always makes him back off.  I must note 
  that I stare him down while doing this.  

Does anyone else use the 
  foot stomping method?  

I believe I know why this is so 
  effective.  Unlike head butting which we cannot compete with (rams are 
  unimpressed if we smack them on the head), foot stomping is something we can 
  totally impress them with.  I have noticed that rams will often stomp 
  their foot as a more basic sign of aggression before they take it up a level 
  to head bashing.  If you can beat them in round one they won't move on to 
  round two.  Since we have so much greater surface area on our feet we can 
  stomp much louder and more forcefully.  This whole foot stomping thing is 
  the only consistently affective thing I've found to do to deter a ram.  
  I'd like to list the other things I've tried along with their 
  effectiveness.

I've tried the "throw water at their face" method, and 
  it works well.  The problem is I usually am not carrying water, and it's 
  not convenient.  It does work though.

Slapping the ram under the 
  chin.  This kind of works as it does stop my ram from hitting, but he has 
  quickly learned to put his head down so I can't reach under his chin.  
  Therefore I think this method is not effective for more than the first few 
  tries.  It still is useful though.

In older posts on here I've 
  read that some people will grab the ram by the horns and flip him on his back 
  and then sit or kneel on him (gently of course) for a little bit to assert 
  their dominance.  I read that after doing this the ram will never bother 
  you again.  I have tried this on my ram as well.  I found that he 
  looked incredibly embarrassed when I let him go.  He looked so 
  embarrassed that I felt sorry for him.  However, I did not find this to 
  have a long term affect on him.  He will still test me.  I have to 
  say that for the effort involved in using this method, it is impractical for 
  some people.  It is still worth knowing how to do though just for the 
  temporary affect it has on the ram.  

Sheep mount each other often 
  times to assert dominance over each other.  I have found that sometimes 
  placing my hand above the rams rump on his lower back has a similar 
  affect.  When one sheep mounts another, the sheep being mounted will move 
  to get away.  I have found that I can get the ram to move away sometimes 
  by placing my hand on his lower back above his rump.  I think this method 
  can be useful when you need the ram to move, but it's not really for when he's 
  showing aggression as he will be facing you and this option won't be 
  practical.  This is not a highly affective method, but I've found it to 
  be useful all the same.

I want to assure everyone that my ram is 
  generally very nice and sweet, but he is still a ram.  I'm not talking 
  about this due to him being overly aggressive.  I just want to talk about 
  what I've experienced and see if others have similar or different experiences 
  with these methods.  What does everyone think of these methods?  
  What is your favorite method?

Johann

  
  

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