How do you handle an aggressive ram?

greybeard

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Bay, the hair sheep don't seem to have that rank smell that woollies have, even in the rams. I've not noticed any smell in them at all...sort of smell like horses~ hair, sweat and hay.

My brother-in-law's hair sheep have the sheep smell. I can smell it when I come around the corner to his house.

Otherwise, I would not keep a ram. My being crippled/killed is not worth keeping a ram.
Same for all livestock species. No herdsire is worth dying over.
 

Buks

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My ram Chewbaca has gotten very aggressive within the last few months. I always try and watch my back, but he has gotten me before and even cracked my phone screen that was in my pocket.

I know he's just being a ram, but I was wondering how you all handle your rams? I have tried to bring sticks or a horse training stick in with me but that doesn't seem to help, only makes things worse. I have waved my hand or put a leg up when he starts coming at me and that works about a handful of times. Maggie even seems to have given up on calling him off. Someone recommended one of the electric cattle prons,. Have you guys ever used one? I was looking at the kind that you need to push the button to shock them with the hopes that just touching him as a warning before shocking would be enough.

It's gotten to where I'm nervous to go in there, I do tie him up to a post if I need to be in there for a lengthy time, but then he'll come at me as I untie him. I was considering wintering him with my last ram lamb (he's still intact though, so maybe not a good idea?). I liked to winter him with the ewes as I can only have one water heater, meaning I would have to haul buckets all winter for him.

For all I know this is all normal, it's only my second year raising sheep. But any suggestions would be great!
Hi WindyIndy. I know this post is old ,but after searching the ol'interweb for days looking for answers. I was shocked to find that Google could not andwer this question properly. So I got my brain in gear. I recently aquired a ram that is 3 years old and was bottle reared he got me on sunday real good I went flying through the gate which happened to be closed moments before... yesterday I got a brilliant idea...... pepper spray. I had to go on his pen to take out some hay to share with the others as he had an entire round bale with him... He did not waste any time and charged. I got him on the left eye really good. He took two steps back and came at me again I got him in his left eye this time he have up for about 2 minutes and tried a third time at which point I sprayed him again this time in the mouth area as well. He gave up completely after that. Now when he tries to charge I raise my hand as if to spray him and make a hissing sound trying to imitate the sound the spray bottle makes he now stops immediately and walks away. I don't think I will ever go in the rams pen without pepper spray again
 

Sheepshape

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Glad you found a solution, but water in a spray bottle is a gentler, though effective, deterrent.

A short stick to tap him on the nose would also probably also work.....shout 'No" at the same time. I mean tap as well, not a hefty blow. A slap works fine, too. It's the shock that 'cures' them....they don't expect it. After a couple of taps generally all that you need to do should he start to dip his head and look aggressive is shout 'No'.

All these techniques work best when a ram lamb is reaching adolescence. A mature ram can be much more of a problem. What the ram needs to know is that you are 'Head Ram' and that you will not tolerate it. Most rams will become respectful and make no attempt to head butt if properly managed. there are, however, some who will never do this. They are lamb chops......and I'm vegetarian.
 

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Glad you found a solution, but water in a spray bottle is a gentler, though effective, deterrent.

A short stick to tap him on the nose would also probably also work.....shout 'No" at the same time. I mean tap as well, not a hefty blow. A slap works fine, too. It's the shock that 'cures' them....they don't expect it. After a couple of taps generally all that you need to do should he start to dip his head and look aggressive is shout 'No'.

All these techniques work best when a ram lamb is reaching adolescence. A mature ram can be much more of a problem. What the ram needs to know is that you are 'Head Ram' and that you will not tolerate it. Most rams will become respectful and make no attempt to head butt if properly managed. there are, however, some who will never do this. They are lamb chops......and I'm vegetarian.
None of these techniques I tried worked I tried them all. I am in South Africa and we're talking about a 105kg Dorper Ram roughly 220lbs of sheep. We trimmed his hooves yesterday and he did not charge me I flipped him on his side and no problems.
 

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This guy broke out of his pen this morning. I had to get him back in. It was a breeze I think I stopped his nonsense he came when called walked alongside me and went back in his pen easy.. his name is Sheldon by the way and this is the troublemaker that tasted the pepper spray.
 

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Nao57

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I've owned a few different rams (but been around many from my neighbor's).

First one I raised from a lamb. Treated him like a pet since I thought he had been wethered. (He was "castrated" with the burdizzo emasculator instead of an elastrator so we were unsure what it would look like. Apparently it wasn't successful.) He was aggressive and honestly I was scared of him. He would try to attack me through the fence. I took him to auction.

Second one I had for two years. He was calm when he was with other sheep, but when he was by himself he was aggressive. I avoided going in with him and I had it set up so I could feed and water over the fence. If I did have to go in with him, I would put a halter on him and lead him around with me. He never acted aggressive when it was like that. If I didn't have a halter on me, I took a piece of baling twin and tied it around his neck and lead him around like that. It had the same effect.

Third one I had for a few months and then I had him butchered. He was aggressive. He would come at me so I would go back at him and put him on the ground. I would get irritated with his disrespectful attitude so I would go at him as he was coming at me (or after he was done) and I would put him on the ground and lay on him. He would be good for a week or two and then he would need a lesson again. After he was done breeding he was promptly moved out of the ewe pasture into his own pen. I wasn't going to let him prevent me from enjoying my flock. My fiance's family ended up eating him.

Now I have one (son of the second one, maternal half brother of the first one) who is a total sweetheart. People say you shouldn't trust rams--and I agree--but I trust this one. He was born Feb 2014 and he is a total sweetheart. Doesn't always come up to me, but when he does he usually stands there and lets me touch him all over. Very complacent little creature. I was relatively hands off when I raised him (he was wild as are all my other lambs for the most part), he only got friendly when I penned him up away from ram #3 because ram #3 always went after this guy and there was an 80 lb +/- difference between the two. So it was for his protection. He is so well mannered that I can keep him with the ewes year round and he's in with the lambs no problem. He does get a little pushy at feeding time, but so does everyone else.

If castration didn't solve the aggressiveness that makes sense, because their instinct is to protect the flock from lots of stuff besides rams, like coyotes, wolves, etc in the wilds.
 

Nao57

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You had bunch of ram lambs inside a barn for a few hours. More than enough time to urinate and deficate. Ergo , what you are smelling is ammonia fumes from the urine and feces. When a ram curls his nose, what he is testing for is the estrogen levels of the ewe to see if she is getting ready or is in heat and readiness to be bred.
I agree. Lots of animals have a lot of ammonia build up when they are closed in.
 

Nao57

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So I'm curious, does it make a difference in the ram's aggressiveness, if he's with females or others at the time you approach, as opposed to alone? What do you think?
 

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So I'm curious, does it make a difference in the ram's aggressiveness, if he's with females or others at the time you approach, as opposed to alone? What do you think?

Yep, especially in breeding season. Hormones are up and rams get feisty then.

Best cure is prevention. I start with young ram lambs that are too friendly by grabbing them around the loins when they get in my personal space. This gooses them up and away. If I walk by and they don't immediately move out of my way, I do the same. No prey animal wants to be attacked from behind and I want my rams to know I'm a predator, not a sheep.

Do the same with roosters that get in my personal bubble, even if they are just walking to the coop alongside me...I'll reach down and grab their tail, make them jump and run. They need to know I don't like my personal space violated.

I've only ever had problems with ram lambs that someone petted around, hand fed or babied in any way...but those were soon corrected. Katahdin rams are usually pretty docile to handle, so it doesn't take much to teach them some respect. That's one more reason I love the Katahdin breed.
 

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