# Ram behavior



## Ewesosillyfarmstead (Nov 21, 2020)

I recently acquired a ram and have put him in with my ewes they have been in the same pasture for a week now and have gotten along great. Although they have not let him mount any of them and he started chasing and slightly ramming a couple. 2 are 2 years old and the other two are 1 Year old all virgins. I’ve even noticed my 2 younger ewes head butting some. I’m still learning it all. I have had sheep for over a year but have increased my herd size. Should I be worried that they are not letting him mount? And running them?


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## secuono (Nov 21, 2020)

Sheep cycle every 17 days, if they're not ready, he'll be annoyed and chase them.
If they don't know each other, normal for them to argue by head butting. 
Rare to witness breeding, lasts seconds.


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## secuono (Nov 21, 2020)

Witnessed a lot of breeding last year, rarely seen it before & haven't seen any this year.


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## Sheepshape (Nov 23, 2020)

Having quite a few ewes I regularly see them mated. Ewes become a bit 'edgy' when in oestrus and can often become a bit aggressive with each other. They will often seek out the ram when they are ready to mate and sniff his testicles, She will also pee in front of the ram when he sniffs at her in order to 'advertise' her condition. The ram will sniff the pee and raise his head so the pheromones in the pee hit his veromonasal organ in the roof of the mouth ...Flehman response!
The ram will paw the ewe. make 'chat up noises', and mate the ewe quite a few times if she is in season. (She will only stand for the ram if she is in season, otherwise she will walk away)
If the ewes are not in season the ram can get a bit frustrated and butt the ewes slightly. Apparently it helps to bring them in to season.
So...as long as th aggression is mild, it's probably just normal 'sex games' for them!


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