Who's the Father?and the One Eyed Ram

[Blue Sky]

Hair sheep don't follow the rules.

 

[Sheepshape]

Seems most of my sheep don't follow the rules....

I think Popeye is 'feeling his old self' again. He is a real gentleman and is staying with any of the ladies who limp and waiting for them all to come down to the feeders in the morning again. He also is clearly feeling better....yesterday he mated one of the few ewes who is not pregnant, and today another. End of June/beginning of July lambs are a real oddity here (if he is fertile at the moment after his illness).

Oh well.

 

[Baymule]

I am just embarking on my sheep journey. We bought 4 bred ewes a few months ago, Dorper/Katahdin crosses and now have 5 lambs. We have 3 ewe lambs and 2 (now) wethered lambs. It is with avid interest that I read of your adventures with your sheep! I love your story of the mystery sheep baby daddy! Haha! He will never have to pay "lamb support" since he can't be identified! I am getting a good chuckle out of that one!

Your one eyed Popeye ram is a handsome fellow. I love the looks of the Beulah Speckled Face but I think I'll stay with my hair sheep......for now. I am tempted to get some sheep for fiber, there is a spinning group here locally. I have not made contact, because I now if I do.......

@Latestarter "cougar ewe"

 

[Bossroo]

I am just embarking on my sheep journey. We bought 4 bred ewes a few months ago, Dorper/Katahdin crosses and now have 5 lambs. We have 3 ewe lambs and 2 (now) wethered lambs. It is with avid interest that I read of your adventures with your sheep! I love your story of the mystery sheep baby daddy! Haha! He will never have to pay "lamb support" since he can't be identified! I am getting a good chuckle out of that one!

Your one eyed Popeye ram is a handsome fellow. I love the looks of the Beulah Speckled Face but I think I'll stay with my hair sheep......for now. I am tempted to get some sheep for fiber, there is a spinning group here locally. I have not made contact, because I now if I do.......

@Latestarter "cougar ewe"

Yes, the daddy CAN be identified . All one has to do is to collect blood samples from all daddy candidates , mom and lamb , send the samples to a DNA testing lab along with the fees and you will soon have your answer unless a wandering ram snuck in on a moonless night undetected.

 

[Sheepshape]

Bossroo......you are, of course, right. BUT.....I suspect that the father has long since gone to market. To be honest, the parentage doesn't really matter. The ewes are not of the same bloodline as Popeye who came from several hundred miles away. I don't breed animals 'close' as genetic mutations will start to crop up sooner or later. Any really decent ram lamb is swopped with another from a neighbour with a different blood line. The two baby lambs look pretty fine to me.

Yep, this ewe certainly does seem to be a 'cougar ewe', Latestarter, she's aged 4 and the father was probably just 4 months old......that must be the equivalent of a billionaire centenarian and a schoolboy....! Momma ewe is not likely to get any 'lamb support' from the Mutton Support Agency as she won't tell anyone who the father is......

Popeye is a huge ram and is currently 'mopping up' any ewes which he missed first time round. (He is staying in with the ewes as he is great with the ladies, the ladies love him and he is not going to see his Nemesis, Rastus, the hard-headed little bully, if he comes up from the left)

There's never a dull moment.

 

[Latestarter]

So what is the verdict for Rastus? Does he get sold back to Popeye's previous owner as a replacement, or just stay & live a pampered life in exile? I have to say Popeye is a big, handsome devil... even missing an eye. Maybe the ladies see him as more suave and debonair sans eye? Girls do like a "bad boy".

 

[Sheepshape]

Latestarter......I'm afraid Rastus has caused one too many problems and will be going to market before too long. He has managed to be spared SO many times.....in the withdrawal period from an antibiotic (had a foot abscess), felt sorry for him, kept him to do swops with etc. He is largely friendly and tame, then has a day when he is 'possessed'......he head-butted me once when my back was turned (I chased after him and slapped him on the nose), he has taken the bark off my sapling oaks and killed them, dented a feeder in temper, and then Popeye.

Popeye is huge and very gentle ....the best type of ram. He retains a respect for humans. When he is at the feeder he is a good 4 inches taller than most of the ewes and very wide.....but little fat. He can be my breeder ram for a few years, and the ladies really like him, always lie in a circle around him, sleep with their heads on him and make him a space at the feeder who he comes along......I've not seen this before with my other rams.I'm hoping that his lambs are good (though my neighbour keep several thousand sheep and is a very experienced sheep farmer).

 

[Latestarter]

He sounds almost too good to be true from what I've come to understand about rams... I can understand why the neighbor really didn't want to sell him. I hope his offspring are all that and a bale of hay to boot!

 

[Baymule]

Popeye sounds like a forever keeper. The ewes certainly know how special he is.

I have to call a friend of mine to this thread, I was telling her how funny it was about your "cougar ewe"
@Devonviolet you gotta read this!

 

[Devonviolet]

What an awesome story! How appropriate to name your big, beautiful ram Popeye. I asked @Baymule if you put a patch over his "pop-eye"? Poor baby! He sure is lucky to have you, @Sheepshape, just as you are lucky to have him!

@Latestarter, LOVE your comment about the "cougar ewe"
What a stitch!