What's the general rule of thumb when a sheep does something potentially dangerous? This week one of my 7 month old wethers wanted more treats and thought that rearing up and bracing his front feet on my hip was the way. I treated him like i used to do my horses if they nipped- try to kill him for about 3 seconds(yell, smack his neck/back then just stop and walk away). It seemed to work-i was able to pet him briefly less than 5 minutes later- but wondered what other techniques there are. I have been handfeeding treats since i got them about 5 weeks ago, in an effort to be able to brush them and handle them etc.
What's the rule?
- Thread starter Jrios
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Baymule
Herd Master
You did good. I’ve raised my arms up, waving them about, to make myself look bigger and scarier, roared and chased. Go ballistic for a minute or so, then go soft in posture and not be a threat anymore.
I am raising two Katahdin rams. I started before they were even weaned. When they pushed their adorable little heads against my leg, they got their cute little faces slapped. They ran off a few steps to process what just happened. Then, just like with horses, I called them back, petted, scratched and ended on a positive. As they got older, they tried a few more times, a little harder. I escalated the punishment to a total meltdown. They are 7 months old now and very well behaved. I need to point out that their sire is a one in a million ram. Just a big sweetheart that mugs for attention and my granddaughters can hug him, brush him and spoil him even more rotten than he already is. I chose these two rams because of conformation of course, but also because of them having their dad’s personality.
Some are just aggressive no matter what you do and you can never trust them. What breed sheep do you have?
I am raising two Katahdin rams. I started before they were even weaned. When they pushed their adorable little heads against my leg, they got their cute little faces slapped. They ran off a few steps to process what just happened. Then, just like with horses, I called them back, petted, scratched and ended on a positive. As they got older, they tried a few more times, a little harder. I escalated the punishment to a total meltdown. They are 7 months old now and very well behaved. I need to point out that their sire is a one in a million ram. Just a big sweetheart that mugs for attention and my granddaughters can hug him, brush him and spoil him even more rotten than he already is. I chose these two rams because of conformation of course, but also because of them having their dad’s personality.
Some are just aggressive no matter what you do and you can never trust them. What breed sheep do you have?
secuono
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I position myself in front of respectful sheep, so that they jump on each other instead of me. I also don't give that one anything until it's on the ground.
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They are katahdin dorper crosses. Pretty sweet overall, shy except for feeding time and i don't think Sundance was trying to hurt me, he just wanted another animal cracker. He didn't leave a bruise even. But-, I'm 63 and have no desire for any more broken bones than I've already had, so i wanted to stop that behavior immediately. I already quit carrying their feed bucket in to them, just fill them and then let them in the pen so they don't run me down accidentally. They don't get hardly any feed, just doing this to civilize them, since they'll need shots and stuff again next year and they aren't even halter broke yet
