Infertile Ram?

[mysunwolf]

We put our 11 month old ram lamb in with the ewes and ewe lambs October 5. I watched him breed Darla, my oldest ewe (who is definitely overweight, bordering on really fat), at least five times that day. Over the next few weeks, I watched him breed quite a few of my other ewes and ewe lambs. Today, 34 days later, I watched Darla stand for the ram to breed her again. I have watched this happen with at least two others.

What are the chances that the ram is infertile?

Could it be that the ewes are just not taking?

I found another white Katahdin ram, 2 years old and proven, not aggressive, for sale 1.5 hours from me, for under $200.

Should I remove my ram lamb from the flock, and instead put in a new ram? Should I just trust that maybe my young ram needs a few more heat cycles to breed the girls than a proven ram would? Do I first do pregnancy tests on my girls?

If I do put a new ram in, any precautions I would need to take? I realize it doesn't leave proper room for quarantine, but I'm in a bit of a bind.

I REALLY need lambs this spring so that I can have lamb meat to sell at the market and get ourselves established there as lamb sellers (we already sell chicken and rabbit). It would be too hard on our farm business to delay it one more market season. And would prefer not to be raising lambs on hay, so breeding in April is not really preferred.

Help!

 

[jodief100]

See if you can find a vet who can do a semen test for the ram. We do our bucks, it runs about $80 and is well worth it. I do not know enough about sheep to say for certain but with our bucks, the younger ones can take a cycle or two to get the job done.

You mentioned Darla is fat. With goats, the fat ones are more difficult to get pregnant. Could it be your ewes? How many ewes did he breed? Outright infertile males are rare but marginal fertility is not uncommon. I would not expect a young buck to cover more than 10 does. An older buck can handle 20-30 depending on conditions.

If it is critical you get your ewes bred now and a semen test is not an option, I would get the other ram. Unless the ewes that are not taking are the fat ones, then maybe it is the ewes. As far as quarantine, take a good hard look at the farm he comes from and all the animals. If they all seem healthy and well taken care of, it may be worth the risk. Ask a lot of questions about health, feed and management.

Good Luck. I hope everything works out for you.

 

[SheepGirl]

Have you seen the ewes all stand for him? I have a 9 month old ram lamb breeding my ewes this year and so far hes settled everyone on their first heat based on the crayon markings from his marking harness. Are you sure your ram is actually rebreeding ewes or is he just messing around? If your ewes on on their second cycle with him, leave him in until the third to make sure they're bred if you think he is rebreeding ewes.

 

[mysunwolf]

The ram is in with 9 ewes/ewe lambs. I am thinking marginal fertility is the answer here. We were not planning to keep this ram anyway.

I would prefer not to get the semen tested as it would cost a lot more than that to have the vet come all the way out here (we're far from town).

Will a ewe stand for a ram if she's already bred? Because this is serious business breeding, not just mounting. So far, I know for sure that there are two ewes that are not taking, both older girls, one who is fat and one who is in perfect condition.

The fat ewe Darla was on her third cycle today when he re-bred her (I did not see any breeding at her second cycle). I have also seen an older ewe lamb get bred on her first and second cycle. I am going to leave a ram in at least until the end of November, and if I do buy a second ram I may leave him in through January depending on how it goes with the girls.

 

[Sheepshape]

Ewes which are pregnant are not interested in, nor are they interesting to the ram. It sounds to me that they may not be pregnant.

Was the ram lamb in any way unwell causing a fever over the last couple of months? If he has had an illness then he may not be fertile for the ensuing two months, though his fertility will eventually recover.Sperm likes lower temperatures than the body cavity,hence the testicles lie outside the body cavity in the scrotum. Anything which causes the blood temperature to increase is likely to cause temporary infertility.

Fingers crossed for your breeding.

 

[mysunwolf]

Thank you Sheepshape.

I have been talked down by the spouse, and may decide that we are content to try again with breeding in April or May if the ewes don't take. Though I'm not sure yet. Maybe I should buy the ram just so I can have him to breed with in fall 2015 as well. Got to find a place to put my current ram until slaughter, though.

Very frustrated that I was an idiot when buying this ram lamb. I keep saying, "Next time I breed sheep for the first time ever, I'll buy a proven ram."

The ram lamb has a bit of a cough, but this only happens when he eats hay. When he's on just pasture, it goes away. Of course, the pastures are all dead, so he has to be on hay.

 

[Sheepshape]

Could you borrow a ram for a couple of weeks? We borrowed one from our neighbours when we first had sheep. We now hold on to our best new ram lambs and swop them with rams from our neighbours to 'mix the blood'.

I usually leave a ram in with the ewes for a month then swop for another ram for a couple of weeks as not all pairings work for whatever reason, even when both animals are fertile.

Apart from feeling a ram's testicles to ensure they are present/equal/no lumps etc and ensuring that the animal looks otherwise well, then most of us don't do a great deal else when buying a ram (and I have to admit,I rarely feel their 'assets'!). Over here a ram can be returned and the sale price refunded if the ram were bought from a livestock auction and fails to impregnate the ewes. However, that could mean no lambs in that season.

I DO hope you find a solution as it is so very disappointing to find that you have nothing at the end of your (and his) hard work.

 

[mysunwolf]

UPDATE: The fat ewe Darla was bleeding from her vagina this morning. She looks otherwise okay. Did the ram just breed her too much?

Another question: Will a pregnant ewe stand for a ram? There is a very very small possibility...

I've thought about borrowing a ram, my main concern is that I lock all my sheep up at night in a barn, and that an unfamiliar ram would be very aggressive with the ewes in the small space. Or that the ewes would harm him!

With this update, I'm sort of hoping that it's just this one ewe. I'm still keeping an eye out for other re-breedings. What's odd is that it looks like most of the ewe lambs are the ones that have "took," whereas I've always read that the ewes are usually the ones that the ram gets on their first cycles.

 

[Sheepshape]

Mature ewes are usually the ones to get pregnant easiest. Pregnant ewes don't usually let the ram mate her......and usually the ram shows no interest in the pregnant ewe.

I'm not sure as to why Darla was bleeding....but it could have been his 'enthusiasm' I guess.

I don't think that an unfamiliar ram in your barn would be an issue. Last year I introduced a new ram to my girls in the barn and he mated one before she had chance to get outside (all in about 10 minutes). They usually will all sniff the newcomer, but that is it. Rams and ewes don't generally fight.

Hope you find a solution.

 

[SheepGirl]

The first day I introduced my new ram to the ewe flock this year, Rosie was upset with him, for whatever reason. She kept antagonizing him and he kept going after her (like serious charging). Luckily my oldest no-nonsense ewe was in heat and she kept distracting the ram so he wouldn't hurt Rosie. She would actually get in between the two and put her butt in his face, lol.

I think that's the only time though I haven't had ewes and rams get along. Just be watchful the first day or two to make sure everybody's okay.