Ram Lamb

[KodeshAcres]

Hey y’all!

I’m trying to wean Weller only because I don’t want him breeding any of the ewes. It’s going bad so far. We set him up in his own paddock water, shelter, minerals, hay (although he cares more for the grass and flowers at the moment) he jumped the fence 3 times into the ewes paddock. One time he got his head and legs all tangled up and was getting shocked by the electric fence how the heck do I do this? We had tried putting him in with our other ram Snickers and that didn’t go well either, Snickers came after him and rammed him. I don’t have a barn so putting him in a barn isn’t an option. We’d like to keep him and have him butchered once he’s big enough if possible.

 

[Margali]

The easiest option is castrating him with a bander. You could get one at feed store and use orange bands. Banding him is easy and means he can stay with mom until time for slaughter.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/precision-canada-castrating-band-applicator

 

[Baymule]

Agree. Whether him and then he won’t be able to breed and can grow to butcher size.

 

[Mini Horses]

Same suggestion here.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

You could also use a burdizzo type castration tool. I like that better than banding. I usually do mine around 10-12 weeks.

 

[Ridgetop]

Wethering him is the best option. Then you can leave him with the ewes to grow and he will wean naturally off his mama. Has he had his CDT vaccinations? If so you don't need to worry about tetanus when you band him. Otherwise you should give him a tetanus shot to be safe. I have a band castrator and could band him for you.

If, for whatever reason, you absolutely don't want to castrate him try making a small pen about 5 x 5 x 48" high for him in a corner of the larger ram pen. The small pen will not allow him enough space to try to jump out. Putting the pen in a corner of Snicker's pen will allow Snickers time to get to know and accept him without hurting him. Of course, about the time he is big enough to go in with Snickers, you will be butchering him. LOL However, by keeping him in the small pen you can feed him corn or other grain to help him grow faster to slaughter size without the other sheep pushing him away from the feed.

Remember that teenage rams can be dangerous so if you don;t wether him, be cautious around him.