what up with the butting?

[Eliza]

My 6 month old wethers, when excited run around and butt heads. Is this excited, happy behavior. They also run up to me, lick my hands, and then do the head butt thing. They are brothers, and they are the only sheep I have, so they spend all their time together.

Eliza

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

are they butting YOU?? or just each other?? if its just each other its just fine but you dont want them doing it to you or anybody else.

my dairy gals do it all the time - usually very gently

this was hilarious when our big old sannan would rear up to full height to butt with your tiny mini-mancha....which scared us to death and the first time we went running thinking for sure she'd kill the little one.... but instead she landed on her feet..and GENTLY give the tiniest little bonk to the mini.... silly goaties.

 

[Beekissed]

My young ewes are now butting each other at times, but only one has offered to lightly butt me. I corrected her immediately. One day she will be much larger and a good, hard butting could knock me down or injure a youngster.

I wouldn't worry about butting each other, though...it's just what they do!

I've found that petting them on the head seems to make them want to butt, so I try to avoid that.

 

[Eliza]

No, I correct them when they want to include me in the butting thing. LOL! And I've noticed that head petting incourages them to want to do it as well. Also, when I pet them, their docked tails wag. Is this a sign of excitment or just a sheep thing? It's hard not to want to pat their heads though!

 

[little sheep]

Hi i was just wondering if anyone has any advice or experience of a ewe that butts and is behaving like a ram ,knickering and curling her lips back and trying to mount the other ewes. It is me that she is butting or anyone who goes into the field. THis has been going on for a month now. She is 6 years old and usually pregnant at this time, but she had 2 difficult lambings in the last 2 seasons, I had to pull out triplets both times. She is a real pet and I would like to keep her but she has become so aggressive and used to be so quiet.

 

[rockdoveranch]

Head butting between each other is normal behavior. They may be establishing territory, or they may be doing it for reasons we will never understand, just like the leg pawing. "Hey, get out of my way, I want that one leaf of grass you are going for!"

The tail wagging is a behavior when nursing. My bottle baby starts a wagging as soon as she sees me come outside with the bottle. Since your boys are only 6 months old my guess is that maybe they are hoping for a sip of milk.

Are they actually hitting you with heads down, or are they hitting you more with their mouths? If it is with their mouths, they are looking for milk.

If they are actually butting you with their heads this is VERY bad.

Were they bottle babies? Bottle baby rams can be a lot more dangerous than sheep that were not bottle fed because they have no fear of man.

We are new to wethering, but I am told from locals never to make a ram lamb your pet. Not sure about wethers although our current wether is putting his head on me. He is going to the freezer soon.

 

[Beekissed]

Hi i was just wondering if anyone has any advice or experience of a ewe that butts and is behaving like a ram ,knickering and curling her lips back and trying to mount the other ewes. It is me that she is butting or anyone who goes into the field. THis has been going on for a month now. She is 6 years old and usually pregnant at this time, but she had 2 difficult lambings in the last 2 seasons, I had to pull out triplets both times. She is a real pet and I would like to keep her but she has become so aggressive and used to be so quiet.

I can't say I know what is going on with your ewe but it sounds like a woman in menopause...irregular ovulation, mood swings, aggressive behavior. Could be it's time to cull? If I had a ewe that was having difficulty birthing, I'd cull her no matter what her age or pet status unless she was a flock leader and valuable to your setup. At the very least, I'd no longer breed her.

 

[little sheep]

Thanks for that advice, yes I didn't breed her this year because of her difficult birthings I am assuming it is her age cos her first 3 lambings there were no problems. I did think of the menopause thing or at least her age affecting her,dementia? I dont know any how if it continues then I will have to cull her, I cant have the agressive behaviour. any one elses views would be welcome

 

[aggieterpkatie]

It does sound like a hormonal issue to me. Six isn't old though, so it may just be a fluke thing with her. If you really like her you could always call your vet and see if they can run a blood test to check for hormonal issues. It could be a cystic ovary or something treatable.


And I know the wether question is old, but Rock, wethers make really great pets. Properly castrated wethers (meaning they didn't leave a testicle) are not aggressive.

 

[rockdoveranch]

With regard to the responses about menopause and hormones. Menopause is a thing of the past for me. That came and went 11 years in one big hurry. Hormones . . . I have felt like butting people all my life.

And I know the wether question is old, but Rock, wethers make really great pets. Properly castrated wethers (meaning they didn't leave a testicle) are not aggressive.

Thanks for the information Aggie. I had no idea. I think we waited a little too long to wether him. I think he was about 3 1/2 months. He IS very sweet, but when I have a bucket of feed in my arms and am walking the herd back to the overnight pasture he puts his head on the back of my legs. He has never rammed me. He is probably telling me, "hurry up lady!"

Up until him, a Texas Barbado and White Dorper mix with horns, and our current White Dorper ewe lamb, all our sheep have been Texas Barbado. The rams all go to the ram pasture until they have nice horns. The ones we do not want to keep go to game ranches as trophy rams.

Had our White Dorper ram not died we were planning on keeping him as the ram's companion. But, we really weren't sure because of the horns. He is going to be our first lamb to go to our freezer.