ewe brutally attacking and butting ram

[dwbonfire]

i know there was just a thread about the opposite happening, but i am really hoping to get some response here as well because i just put a young ram in with my two ewes, one is coming 2 years old and one is coming 1 year old. the 2 year old ewe was butting him so viciously and repetitive he was down on the ground when i went to check them and she was still head butting him. he seemed almost in shock for about 10 minutes after i took her away from him and tied her up. i didnt know if she seriously injured him or what, but he did eventually get up and nibble at some feed. the other ewe isnt bothering him at all so far.
i know they will usually work this out but i am concerned for his safety because hes still fairly young and shes definetly bigger than him. is it safe to assume shes not in heat by the way shes acting? perhaps once she is, she will be not so mean to him. the ewes are jacob sheep, so they are seasonal breeders. i had a ram with them about two months ago, but sadly he passed. i never did see them breed, but is it possible her behavior is because shes already been bred by the previous ram? is there any way to know for sure? im not sure she would have started cycling that early, i am told jacobs start in the winter time. her last exposure to him was early october.
thanks for any advice!

 

[bonbean01]

I have no clue...have never seen that with my sheep when we've gotten a weaned young ram lamb

Hope someone comes on with some experience in this. And sorry you lost your ram

 

[dwbonfire]

I have no clue...have never seen that with my sheep when we've gotten a weaned young ram lamb

Hope someone comes on with some experience in this. And sorry you lost your ram

i am surprised she acted that way! shes kind of a bull of a ewe, shes very pushy and rude sometimes tho i do love her. but i couldnt believe my eyes when i saw him laying there getting beat on, i thought she had really hurt him! she did not act that way to the other ram at all, she was pushy about food but never butted him like that.

 

[Alice Acres]

We've had bossy ewes push around young rams, but never anything like you are describing. But I don't have Jacobs either - that may be a reason or maybe not?
I would agree w/ you that she is either already bred, or is not cycling. Both would make a ewe not interested in a ram.
Good luck.

 

[dwbonfire]

I went out to check on everyone (ewe is still tied) and they all seemed content. The ram was able to get near her with no fuss, so i decided to untie her and observe. She cornered him but was just sniffing on him. She squated as if to pee but it didnt look like she did. Could this be behavior of cycling? I know it is with horses so i assume the same. Im not sure how old this ram lamb is but he just stood there with his head low afraid to move. Then she went to butting him again. Odd thing is he just falls to the ground and lets her bully him. If he stood his ground a little i dont think she would be picking on him so much. Why would he be so timid and just fall limp like that?

 

[Alice Acres]

I went out to check on everyone (ewe is still tied) and they all seemed content. The ram was able to get near her with no fuss, so i decided to untie her and observe. She cornered him but was just sniffing on him. She squated as if to pee but it didnt look like she did. Could this be behavior of cycling? I know it is with horses so i assume the same. Im not sure how old this ram lamb is but he just stood there with his head low afraid to move. Then she went to butting him again. Odd thing is he just falls to the ground and lets her bully him. If he stood his ground a little i dont think she would be picking on him so much. Why would he be so timid and just fall limp like that?

Ewes also squat to pee (or no pee, like you describe) all the time, so it's not as accurate as in horses.
Maybe he was low man in the pecking order at his home flock, and it was a learned behavior?

 

[SheepGirl]

How old is the ram? Did the ewe lamb this past year?

 

[dwbonfire]

I really dont know for sure how old the ram is, im thinkin hes a little too young to know just what to do. He was probably a early spring lamb so about 8 months old or so.
The ewe did not lamb this past year. This is her first time being exposed to a ram, other than the previous ram i had who died. She didnt act tha way to him, he was only about 8 months old too but acted a little more "with it" when it came to the girls, i saw him interested in her but never saw them breed. How can i find out if shes been bred?

 

[SheepGirl]

I was going to say, maybe he tried to sneak a drink of milk off of her while she was eating. I've seen a yearling ewe try to nurse of her dam when she had new babies on the ground, and the momma attacked her yearling daughter with the same amount of force you've described.

BUT the only way to know if she's bred is to wait and see if this new ram breeds her. Or wait until she lambs

 

[Bridgemoof]

Hey dwBon, these Jacobs I have seem to have a lot more attitude than the other sheep I have. I'm going through the same kind of power struggles with mine, although not exactly as you describe. I guess because they are horned, they have to establish some kind of pecking order, and they usually do it viciously with those horns!

If it were me, I would be afraid she would hurt him. She's quite possibly bred and trying to make sure he should not try to pull anything funny on her. Is there a way you can keep them separated by a fence or gate and let them see each other for a while without being together? That way they can kind of get used to each other, but not interact.

My young Jacob ram Uriah is a head butting maniac,he's about 10 months now. Lily, the oldest ewe of the bunch, has been head butting him, but they go head to head. He starts it, but she won't take it and she goes after him. She's trying to keep him in line. I'm quite sure she is bred (by him) and doesn't want him to hurt her, so she fights violently with him, head to head. Eventually he walks away. Your guy just sounds a little shyer and meeker, so he's getting beat up.

Just this week I introduced my flock to the new Jacobs I got. I was worried Uriah would head butt them, especially the one who is a whether. But instead he is trying to breed them all, even the whether. The Jacob ewes were running... running away from him! I don't know if they were in heat, but they would not stand for him and let him have his way. But fortunately, there was no head butting. BY about day two everybody had calmed down and I guess they established some kind of agreement between them all because they are calm.


Good luck!