Sheepshape
Herd Master
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2012
- Messages
- 1,706
- Reaction score
- 3,095
- Points
- 373
A little pre-Christmas amusement.
Rams are known to jump to ewes in season, and can smell ewes for miles.....I think we have probably the most insistent ram I have ever borrowed.
I'd usually preface this by naming him and telling you all about his lamb days....but I don't know any of this as he belongs to a neighbouring sheep farmer (Farmed all his life and highly respected hereabouts for his knowledge on sheep).
This year (as most years) he loaned us a handsome chap, 3 years old, who he rated highly but was a bit too closely related to some of his ewes to use himself this year. On 20th October he went into our ladies. Wishing for lambing to be condensed, he came out on 3rd December, and, thanking him for his diligence, he went back home....placed in a field about 3/4 mile and several fields from us by the neighbour.
Next morning, and going to feed a little runty lamb who in a field next to the girls...."What is that?"....the Ram. It seems the neighbour had left the gate to his field open, so the Ram had walked out, past his farmhouse and workshop, down about 300 yards of road, up our long drive, jumped two fences and was just one fence away from his harem. So we herded him back into the trailer, back to neighbours, back into the field and the gate was shut. But Ram now knows the way.
Two days later.....he's back. Same procedure, but placed in a field well away.
All quiet for about a week..... then "What's that?"....sure enough back in the field with 'his' ladies and looking very proud of himself.
So the plan? Well, he's not going to do any harm and he clearly has decided where the grass is greenest (though, of course. it is not!), so he's now resident until his testosterone levels have died back/all ewes pregnant/he finds another bunch of ladies.
My ewes should be scanned in the New Year, and I'm hoping that his fertility matches his athleticism!
Rams are known to jump to ewes in season, and can smell ewes for miles.....I think we have probably the most insistent ram I have ever borrowed.
I'd usually preface this by naming him and telling you all about his lamb days....but I don't know any of this as he belongs to a neighbouring sheep farmer (Farmed all his life and highly respected hereabouts for his knowledge on sheep).
This year (as most years) he loaned us a handsome chap, 3 years old, who he rated highly but was a bit too closely related to some of his ewes to use himself this year. On 20th October he went into our ladies. Wishing for lambing to be condensed, he came out on 3rd December, and, thanking him for his diligence, he went back home....placed in a field about 3/4 mile and several fields from us by the neighbour.
Next morning, and going to feed a little runty lamb who in a field next to the girls...."What is that?"....the Ram. It seems the neighbour had left the gate to his field open, so the Ram had walked out, past his farmhouse and workshop, down about 300 yards of road, up our long drive, jumped two fences and was just one fence away from his harem. So we herded him back into the trailer, back to neighbours, back into the field and the gate was shut. But Ram now knows the way.
Two days later.....he's back. Same procedure, but placed in a field well away.
All quiet for about a week..... then "What's that?"....sure enough back in the field with 'his' ladies and looking very proud of himself.
So the plan? Well, he's not going to do any harm and he clearly has decided where the grass is greenest (though, of course. it is not!), so he's now resident until his testosterone levels have died back/all ewes pregnant/he finds another bunch of ladies.
My ewes should be scanned in the New Year, and I'm hoping that his fertility matches his athleticism!