Introducing a young ram to my older ram

[Ponker]

I am about to introduce a nearly 3 month old ram named Georgie to a year old sheep named Holstein. They are both Finns. They've been fence to fence with each other since Georgie has been born.Georgie is still quite small but Finns mature very quickly so I need to get him away from the ewes and his sister of the same age. I do not want any accidental breedings! That being said, how do I go about this?

Should I put them together in a small pen and let them get acquianted?
Should I put Georgie into the pasture with Holstein and let them get acquainted?

I don't want Georgie to get hurt. He's small and gentle. Holstein is gentle and walks on a lead... they're both sweeties but putting them together might bring out the ram in them. I'll be putting them together somehow within a week. They'll live together from here on out... for better or worse.

Holstein has been alone for a couple of months just a fence between him and the new Mommas and their lambs. He's not been a happy camper but I knew he'd have a friend before long.

I have about ten sheep books and read a lot of advice on the web. Getting advice from people who have actually had hands-on is different than simply reading theory. Practical application is the key.

Anyone that has done this before - could you please share your technique and how did it work, what would you change next time, if anything?

 

[Colorful_Goat_Mama]

I am about to introduce a nearly 3 month old ram named Georgie to a year old sheep named Holstein. They are both Finns. They've been fence to fence with each other since Georgie has been born.Georgie is still quite small but Finns mature very quickly so I need to get him away from the ewes and his sister of the same age. I do not want any accidental breedings! That being said, how do I go about this?

Should I put them together in a small pen and let them get acquianted?
Should I put Georgie into the pasture with Holstein and let them get acquainted?

I don't want Georgie to get hurt. He's small and gentle. Holstein is gentle and walks on a lead... they're both sweeties but putting them together might bring out the ram in them. I'll be putting them together somehow within a week. They'll live together from here on out... for better or worse.

Holstein has been alone for a couple of months just a fence between him and the new Mommas and their lambs. He's not been a happy camper but I knew he'd have a friend before long.

I have about ten sheep books and read a lot of advice on the web. Getting advice from people who have actually had hands-on is different than simply reading theory. Practical application is the key.

Anyone that has done this before - could you please share your technique and how did it work, what would you change next time, if anything?

How close are they to ewes?

 

[Ponker]

Georgie is currently with the ewes and babies. Holstein is in the next pasture with just a fence separating them. When they are together, I'd thought they'd share Holstein's pasture which is always close to the ewes. (I use electric fencing to keep them separate.) Maybe next year I'll have my permanent fencing done and be able to move them far from the ewes when they're not needing their attention.

 

[Colorful_Goat_Mama]

Georgie is currently with the ewes and babies. Holstein is in the next pasture with just a fence separating them. When they are together, I'd thought they'd share Holstein's pasture which is always close to the ewes. (I use electric fencing to keep them separate.) Maybe next year I'll have my permanent fencing done and be able to move them far from the ewes when they're not needing their attention.

If you could put the ewes maybe farther away? Males tend to be nicer to one another when there's no girls around.

 

[mysunwolf]

Pen them in a very small space together so they can't step back far enough to do serious ramming damage. And I agree with separating from all contact with the ewes! The fenceline contact they've had should help the real intro. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[Ponker]

Thanks for the advice. I'll do the intro tomorrow in a stall in the barn after they've had their grain, so no competition for food. I'll do it after the girls are out to pasture also so they're further away. If Holstein and Georgie are nice to each other, I'll put them in the paddock next to the barn for the day. Usually they hate that because its small and all the grass is short but its away from the girls and will give them privacy from the ewes for the day. In the evening, I bring all the ewes in to the paddock next to the barn for safekeeping. Either Georgie goes back in with the ewes or sleeps with Holstein in his stall. I'm leaning on putting Georgie in with Holstein for the night.

Georgie will be distraught. So will his sister, Sissy. They're two peas in a pod. Can't see one without the other. They're older than the other lambs by over a month. Momma isn't here on my farm either. So they cling to each other since the other lambs have Moms. I call them my orphans even though they're really not.

More fencing is on the horizon but its another month out. Meanwhile, I have to make do.

I read somewhere about rubbing a scent under their noses to fool them into thinking everyone smells the same. I don't know how that works when there are only the two of them. As you can tell. I'm nervous about it because Georgie is so small but I've heard of many people who put their weaned boys together with the older rams.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll let you know how everything goes. Fingers crossed.

 

[Ponker]

Separated Sissy and Georgie (twins) and put Georgie in with Holstein this morning. Holstein tried mounting him and they played cat and mouse for awhile. They're now calm but Georgie still cries for his sister. They can hear each other but not see one another. Its the best I can do. Seems that all is well. It'll just take time for them to get used to it.

 

[Colorful_Goat_Mama]

Aww poor baby! It'll get better!

 

[Baymule]

Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[Ponker]

So last evening I took Holstein to his stall and Georgie went with him. Once back in the stall, Holstein was again chasing and trying to ride Georgie. I watched them for a few hours and they calmed down once they ate. The girls came into the paddock near the barn for the night. The were close enough to probably smell each other and definitely within hearing distance. Sissy cried. Ugh its heart-wrenching but I don't want Georgie to breed his sister. I had to bear it and try to comfort them as best as I could.

The boys will stay in the barnyard again while the girls go to pasture today. I'll do this a few more days. So far...so good.