Need advice! Lamb ram, ramming baby goat, baby goat not amused!

I am NEW to sheep and goats!
I have four babies I just bought, two lambs male and female dorset texel cross and two goats, male (wethered) and female, all around the same age, like 10-11 weeks. All bottle fed, we got them 6 weeks ago. They are eating hay and grain plus bottles. Weaning starting now.

The male lamb, "Bumper" is bigger than the others, and has been just so sweet. He will occasionally head butt the male goat just playing, but today he was very aggressive and chasing the goat and ramming him hard. The goat was frightened and running from him calling for me.
I put Bumper in another pen and noticed his nostrils were flaring and he panted for a minute, ramming the gate trying to get out.
Can anyone tell me why he is doing this? Can I put him back with the others?
Should he be castrated?
Is he just bored being inside since it's rainy and cold outside and I have been keeping them in?
Any advice would be so appreciated!

First off - congratulations on your new sheep and goats!

Since you asked if he should be castrated then I must ask...what purpose you have for these animals? Are they for breeding or did you buy them as pets? If they are simply pets then yes castrate both the ram and the goat males.
If they are for breeding then you may want to consider separating your goats from your sheep as it sounds like your ram is going to be aggressive.

Also I don't know where you are located but it's May, surely it's not that cold that you must keep them locked away inside. Sure goats don't like rain but sometimes they will venture out in it and I know plenty of sheep farmers who lock their sheep out of the barns from Spring to Fall.

Sheep and goats spar differently. A ram can kill a goat by the way the hit.
If I had no breeding plans I would band all the boys. Otherwise your in for some nightmares.
LOL, I would not use metal buckets for the sheep. I made that mistake. They love to smash them.
Or at least mine did. And he was banded.

Castrate. A bum lamb does not make for a good breeding ram. At all. Period.

We bought a former bum lamb when we were desperate for a breeder. He is dangerous and could easily kill a person. 95% of bum rams will turn out that way.

Lambs will also head but for fun and to determine dominance. I have seen week old ewe lambs butting away right next to the boys. He will turn into a danger if you keep him as a breeder. I have lost a ram to head butting injuries, and that was an animal who knew how the game was played. Not a goat who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Also, like Elevan suggested, let them out side. Being able to run around will get rid of a lot of pent up energy and aggression. Even if the weather is cruddy. We have newborn lambs who will stay out in sub zero temperature and three feet of snow to stay with their mothers.

elevan said:

First off - congratulations on your new sheep and goats!

Since you asked if he should be castrated then I must ask...what purpose you have for these animals? Are they for breeding or did you buy them as pets? If they are simply pets then yes castrate both the ram and the goat males.
If they are for breeding then you may want to consider separating your goats from your sheep as it sounds like your ram is going to be aggressive.

Also I don't know where you are located but it's May, surely it's not that cold that you must keep them locked away inside. Sure goats don't like rain but sometimes they will venture out in it and I know plenty of sheep farmers who lock their sheep out of the barns from Spring to Fall.

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Thanks for your reply!
Initially I thought it would be good to get them for breeding... The more I read about it, the more I realized that I'm not set up (yet) to have them separated, and I really don't want to mess with aggressive animals... Having them as pets, is fine, my kids are learning about animals and that was really the point anyway.
I guess we'll have to get him castrated, our little lamb female was a quad, and she is so small, I'd have to keep them apart at least for a while, which I hadn't planned on.
We live in eastern Canada, spring has only just arrived, sort of...and although we have had a few warmer days, it's been raining and very windy and cold since the snow melted...since they are still babies, I thought it best to keep then in, since there is currently no shelter from the rain and wind once they're outside (we are working on this)

alsea1 said:

Sheep and goats spar differently. A ram can kill a goat by the way the hit.
If I had no breeding plans I would band all the boys. Otherwise your in for some nightmares.
LOL, I would not use metal buckets for the sheep. I made that mistake. They love to smash them.
Or at least mine did. And he was banded.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice!
Looks like that's what we should do.. We named him Bumper... Looks like he's trying to live up to that!

BrownSheep said:

Castrate. A bum lamb does not make for a good breeding ram. At all. Period.

We bought a former bum lamb when we were desperate for a breeder. He is dangerous and could easily kill a person. 95% of bum rams will turn out that way.

Lambs will also head but for fun and to determine dominance. I have seen week old ewe lambs butting away right next to the boys. He will turn into a danger if you keep him as a breeder. I have lost a ram to head butting injuries, and that was an animal who knew how the game was played. Not a goat who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Also, like Elevan suggested, let them out side. Being able to run around will get rid of a lot of pent up energy and aggression. Even if the weather is cruddy. We have newborn lambs who will stay out in sub zero temperature and three feet of snow to stay with their mothers.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice!

I need to find a book or something on raising sheep (I have one on goats and it was very helpful) I will get him castrated now, I don't want aggressive animals.. At just 12 weeks he's already pretty big and strong!

Another thing to consider is ... this ram lamb is aggressive already, he was bottle fed. So, he will have little respect for humans much less children and will try to dominate them by butting and possibly hurting them no matter if castrated or not. My suggestion is to invite him to a BBQ party at around 5 months of age.

Bossroo said:

Another thing to consider is ... this ram lamb is aggressive already, he was bottle fed. So, he will have little respect for humans much less children and will try to dominate them by butting and possibly hurting them no matter if castrated or not. My suggestion is to invite him to a BBQ party at around 5 months of age.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion. I will keep that in mind.