how do you get yer ewes bred if you don't have your own ram??

[patandchickens]

OK, so I have sort of arrived at wanting to get 2 ewes for milking (though I may have to get ewe lambs and wait for them to grow up, am still phoning 'round).

But I do NOT NOT NOT want to keep a ram, for a variety of reasons on which I am pretty inflexible at this point.

Surely people with just a few sheep MUST have ways of arranging for them to get bred without actually owning a ram?

Options that have been suggested or considered include:

--rent a ram for a few wks, or send my ewes to someone's ram for a few weeks. Problem: not sure anyone around here will do that. (I don't know for sure, but dairy-sheep lady I spoke with this afternoon did not sound especially optimistic).

--buy a ram in Nov., run it with ewes for a month, then sell it or convert into freezer mutton. Problems: health risks, upfront cost, lack of vehicle/trailer in which to transport full-grown breeding ram.

--AI. Problem: am under impression it works poorly with sheep and is pretty expensive as cannot be done the same way as with cattle or horses.

--just give up on whole sheep idea :/

What do YOU do?

Thanks for any info/suggestions,

Pat

 

[lupinfarm]

Most small farm owners here rent-a-ram or rent-a-buck with goats. Call around, most breeders are fairly flexible on this you just need to do some blood testing usually. The most common thing to do is driveway breeding here.

We're hesitant to buy a buck for the goats, so we're talking to the lady we're buying our two new doelings from in May about bringing them back at a year for breeding to one of her other bucks.

Ask around, just because the woman you spoke to wasn't into the idea doesn't mean others won't be. In my experience its a lot easier to find all these services for goats despite the relatively small population of goats in Ontario (its getting bigger every day it seems though lol). You may have to look outside your area for a ram or breeding services. For instance, our area is exploding with sheep, we have great sheep land and its very easy to find a ram to breed to.

Have you thought about the fact that sheep graze on the same grasses as horses? I know you probably won't put them together but one thing that is suggested around here is if you have horses, buying goats instead of sheep, because the goats for the most part will eat the stuff the horses don't like.

 

[Beekissed]

You find a breeder that has a healthy flock and you borrow or pay stud fees. I will eventually buy a ram this year, but until then have had the offer of the loan of two different rams from two breeders. No cost. One is the breeder from whence I bought my ewes, so I'm not too worried about disease from his flock.

I may take one up on the offer until I find the ram lamb I want.

I don't know why you don't want your own ram, they don't taint the milk like bucks do....but, if you really don't want to keep one around, most folks buy a ram lamb and do the deed. Then sell or butcher.

 

[miss_thenorth]

What I would do, if I can't find a ram next time around is -a)while driving around, when ever I see a sheep farm, stop in and ask about renting a ram, or- b) put an add in kijij, looking for one. Infact, I have seen ads in kijiji of people offering stud services. i have no desire to keep a ram either, but worst case scenario for us is to buy one, use him and then butcher him. (Although I have never had mutton, I have had lamb before--mutton is supposed to be stronger flavoured.) Regardless, I'm not sweating it.

You could also ask around at your feed store of names of other sheep farmers, and talk to them--(not just the one lady who didn't seem all that encouraging. )

 

[jhm47]

My children used to show Columbia sheep in 4-H. I would have never allowed anyone to "borrow" one of our rams. There are several diseases that can be passed around, and when you get a clean flock, be very careful to keep it clean. Foot rot, soremouth, and several other contagious diseases are readily passed from one to another.

As to butchering a ram mature enough to breed ewes---good luck! We tried it once, and wound up feeding the resulting meat to our dog. Tough, and strong tasting stuff. There is a reason that cull rams only bring a few cents a pound.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Well, if we got a ram I would have no problem feeding it to my dogs either, since I make my own dog food.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

You can always buy a ram lamb and use him to breed, then send him to freezer camp.

 

[lupinfarm]

Pat, I know of a sheep farm here that transports their full grown meat ewes in the back of a ford focus sedan (the older ones) We took a full grown Newfoundland Dog (an intact male!) in the back of our Ford Focus Station wagon across Ontario. I tihnk you could make it work.

 

[Beekissed]

Ram lambs are called lambs because they are still considered lambs up until one year of age. For most breeds of sheep, they are sexually mature around 6-7 mo. of age, which makes them still pretty tender fare if you wish to butcher or sell for market.

There are some cultures that prefer young rams and like the stronger flavor of their meat. Some folks don't even bother banding their ram lambs anymore before selling to market as their meat doesn't tend to start getting strong until later on.

 

[jen6265]

I would be very careful bringing a ram in from a farm that rents or leases a ram, we don't do it. Its risky for our flock and yours, many possible problems with disease, liability etc. If I were in your shoes and you aren't looking for a high quality registered ram, I would find a local breeder and arrange to purchase an unregistered ram, use him, and then send him to auction. I usually get anywhere from 50 - 75 at my local auction for the rams.

We did AI this year, it is a little pricey, requires some coordination, and we had a 66% success rate (we did 3 ewes). Its a surgical procedure, sheep cant be AI'd with a turkey baster.

Good luck!
Jen