Ram Issue

Akbreaky

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I have a coming 3 year old dorset ram that I bought in November with my small flock. He is halter broke and easy for me to handle. I had him headbutt me once and I went after him and he's been good since. However, I borrowed him to a friend for a couple months and he was with her ewes. I went and got him after she said he was unpredictable to the humans. And headbutted her child. I warned her that animals are unpredictable before hand and she has a new flock for him so it might crazy right away. When I got there he came right up to me and let me put his halter on and lead him out. He's been home now and he is loving his bachelor life. Is him headbutting at her place a reason to cull him? He's been home a month now and I haven't had him even try but he's not with my ladies.
 

B&B Happy goats

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I don't have sheep, just goats, but lending out your ram may bring back disease or other things that can cause your ewes to become infected with other things....that is my reason for not letting my buck breed anyone other than my own.....he sounds like a normal ram. Headbutting happens with goats also, just isn't allowed here ..and when it does happen they find out really fast who is the alpha witch here... 😉
Some of the sheep people will be along to give you better advice....
@ Farmerjan,@ Mike CHS, @ Baymule.....@ Beekissed @ Ridgetop
 
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Akbreaky

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I don't have sheep, just goats, but lending out your ram may bring back disease or other things that can cause your ewes to become infected with other things....that is my reason for not letting my buck breed anyone other than my own.....he sounds like a normal ram. Headbutting happens with goats also, just isn't allowed here ..and when it does happen they find out really fast who is the alpha witch here... 😉
Some of the sheep people will be along to give you better advice....
@ Farmerjan,@ Mike CHS, @ Baymule.....@ Beekissed @ Ridgetop
Thank you. Yes, I'll never lend him to anyone again. He's quarantined here while my ewes wean their lambs
 

messybun

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It’s common for goats and sheep to hit, especially the males. Unlike dogs biting this is not a reason to put them down. Because you chased him, you became boss(good instincts btw) but it wouldn’t be strange for him to but someone else to see if he could get away with it. I don’t put up with butting me in my herd, and I will swiftly correct them. It hasn’t been an issue since I had young goats lol, they learned. I’ve found intact males are incredibly difficult to get a good one, so if he’s behaving for you keep him!
I don’t have sheep, but I do have goats and they have similar hierarchies as far as I understand.
Personally, when I had young goats who were just learning their place in the world I wouldn’t let people play with them. Because they would butt heads with their hands and play rough and the people didn’t know how to handle livestock. Now that I have all adults I don’t have to be quite so careful, but I still don’t let anyone rough house with them.
 

Baymule

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It is a rams nature to be dominant. The top male gets to breed. That’s where he’s coming from and that’s his frame of mind. YOU understand that and when he tried you, you swiftly went after him and did not let him dominate you. Lending him out to someone who doesn’t “get it” can teach him bad manners. Lending out your breeding ram or buck, and bringing back disease has already been brought up.

Cull him? No. Keep him home where he knows better than to mess with you. If he thinks he can dominate small children, it might be best to keep kids on their side of the fence.
 

Ridgetop

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No need to cull him. Your ram is just being a ram.

I tell everyone "NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A RAM". The sweetest rams can start butting people anytime. Usually they start doing this around 2-3 years old which is the age of your ram. Very normal. Particularly if they have been tamed a lot,

We bought a young ram lamb and had my grandson tame him down. He was sweet. Would come up to be petted. He is 2+ and has butted my adult son and my husband each twice. Both are big men and figure they can take him on so they walk into the pen with9ut watching. He waits until their backs are turned and butts them then He doesn't do this very often and if they see him coming and shout, he backs off, It is just normal ram behavior and why I never turn y back on rams. Our other rams have threatened to butt but DH and DS1 don't turn their backs on them because they were not tamed here. I think taming him was a mistake because he learned that we won't hurt him. So no fear of us. The other 2 rams are catchable and can be handled but were not tamed. I trust them more than the tame one. We have Dorpers but had Dorsets previously. Dorsets usually have a calm temperament which is where the Dorpers get their calm temperament from.

I would not cull the ram, instead I question the intelligence of your friend who sent a child into a pen with a strange ram!
 

Finnie

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but lending out your ram may bring back disease or other things that can cause your ewes to become infected with other things....

. Lending out your breeding ram or buck, and bringing back disease has already been brought up.
I don’t have sheep or goats, but I know in dogs, brucellosis is one of the STDs they test for, to prevent the bitch from infecting the stud, and vice versa. Do you guys know if a vet can test @Akbreaky ’s ram for any diseases he may have picked up, or do you just have to wait and see? What can sheep pass around besides brucellosis?
 

Ridgetop

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There is a simple blood test for brucellosis. It is required before a ram can be transported across state lines so most animal vets can draw blood and send it for the test.

I don't loan out breeding animals, nor do I accept animals I don't know and haven't bred myself for breeding to my rams. If I were to do that I would keep a special ram just for outside breedings. That ram would be tested for brucellosis every year. Since I don't have many people around to make it worth the expense, I just don't offer stud service.

When our children were younger, we loaned out a beautiful Nubian buck to a "friend" who we thought we could trust. He came back with abcesses, and we later found out that they had several goats with CAE! My son was heartbroken because he had bred that buck and nursed it from a premature birth as a quad. We sent it to the auction. :mad::smack

Hard to refuse a "friend" - but harder still to lose a good animal! Last time we ever loaned out a breeding animal.
 

Baymule

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In my estimation, if you have sheep or goats, suck it up and have YOUR OWN stud. I wouldn't loan out my ram-ever. I would offer to SELL a ram lamb if somebody needed one. Buy your own. Period.
 

Beekissed

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I have a coming 3 year old dorset ram that I bought in November with my small flock. He is halter broke and easy for me to handle. I had him headbutt me once and I went after him and he's been good since. However, I borrowed him to a friend for a couple months and he was with her ewes. I went and got him after she said he was unpredictable to the humans. And headbutted her child. I warned her that animals are unpredictable before hand and she has a new flock for him so it might crazy right away. When I got there he came right up to me and let me put his halter on and lead him out. He's been home now and he is loving his bachelor life. Is him headbutting at her place a reason to cull him? He's been home a month now and I haven't had him even try but he's not with my ladies.
No, it's not a reason to cull him. That lady was plumb crazy to have her child in the same place as the ram in the first place, particular when he's there for breeding.

A ram knows what he can get by with and with whom....you've schooled him and he now respects you, she didn't and so he doesn't. I'd keep him and keep assessing him for this behavior and correcting when needed....if you cannot correct, then I'd cull.
 
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