# Went to look at a new ram today... questions...



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Apr 20, 2013)

*Found an ad on Craigslist for someone selling American Blackbellies, and he only lives a few miles away from me! Woo hoo! 

As you guys know my ram is a Katahdin ram, but all my ewes are all Blackbellies. So I was thinking of replacing him with an American Blackbelly Ram. Well I went out there and they seemed a little thin, but the main difference between them and mine was the SIZE, those things are MUCH smaller than my sheep! I think his ram was just slightly bigger than my ewes, (maybe 125# I'm guessing) and his ewes were MUCH smaller than mine. So are the blackbelly breeds small? Anywho, since they are so small and we will be using them for meat, is it a bad idea to buy and use one of his rams? He has a nice yearling that I can buy for 100 bucks.

And the second thing is that MAN his were friendly!!! They'd come right up to you and let you pet them, especially the ram! Mine are polar opposites, lol.

And lastly, what would you do with an old ram? Aren't they supposed to be no good for eating?


Thanks!*


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## promiseacres (Apr 20, 2013)

I know people who use blackbellies for meat...but yes my new bb girl is way smaller than my painted deserts (my 3 mo old lamb is almost as tall & I am sure out weighs her)...Imo if u are breeding for meat keep ur ram unless there's a market for purebreds in your area. I was recently told a 50-70#  ram lamb was worth about $120 to ethnic buyers or about 1.60/# at auction....


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## purplequeenvt (Apr 20, 2013)

We just put an 8 or 9 year old Romney ram in the freezer.....he wouldn't taste bad. Maybe a bit stronger than a lamb.


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## alsea1 (Apr 20, 2013)

LOL  I wonder how he got them so friendly.
Get his secret and pass it on.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Apr 20, 2013)

alsea1 said:
			
		

> LOL  I wonder how he got them so friendly.
> Get his secret and pass it on.


*
X2!!! 

And I want a ram that looks like the one in your avatar!*


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## alsea1 (Apr 20, 2013)

This fella is a five year old I think.
He is kinda nice looking isn't he.
He is hard on the barn though. Loves butting things


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Apr 20, 2013)

*About how much does he weigh? 

The ones I looked at today just seem SO small to me! They had these dainty little legs! *


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## alsea1 (Apr 20, 2013)

I estimate his weight at around 125 pounds or so.

From what I have seen, these are not huge sheep.

I got them originally because I was intrigued with their exotic looks.  But now I am leaning toward Katahdins.  

But I still really like the looks of my black belly sheep.

Are your lambs out of black belly ewes by that katahdin ram?  I was thinking about when the time comes to replace my boy going with a katahdin ram. But I was concerned about the size difference causing birthing problems.

In that area I have been lucky.  Each time my bb ewe lambed she needed not help from me.  

Boothcreek sure has some nice black bellies too.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Apr 20, 2013)

*Mine are not "purebred" American Blackbellies as I am sure probably most aren't. I like their looks as well.

I guess mine are on the large side. I think my ewes are about 100 pounds. My Katahdin ram is about 200#.

From what I understand the lady who was breeding this line has been working on them over 15 years, with a little outcrossing here and there, so yeah not purebreds.

I believe that the ewes I have are American Blackbelly crossed with Katahdin and possibly Painted Desert. 

They are quite a bit bigger and stockier than the ewes I saw today, however I have heard that different lines can vary quite a bit.

They have never needed help lambing according to the lady I bought them from, that's one thing she has been working on~ was self sufficiency. No hoof trimming, no help lambing, no de-worming etc.

And I do have to say (not trying to be conceded at all) that my sheep look WAYYYYYY better than the ones I looked at today.

Your ram also looks 100% better than the ones I saw today. And I think the one I saw was about 125 pounds also.

... Wanna trade rams?  *


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## alsea1 (Apr 20, 2013)

Sure. LOL  Be a bit of a drive.

My ewes are on the small side as well.

We are raising them for meat so I think I need to sway my herd toward some good outcrossing.

It would also be nice breed out some of the flighty tendencies I'm seeing.  They allow me only so close.

I have to trim the rams feet sunday.  We will see how this goes.  First I have to catch his butt. Then wrestle him down and manage to use shears on his resisting self.  Hopefully my husband will be able to resist laughing enough to help me. LOL

The other outcross I had considered was dorper.  

However I want to stick with breeds that have proven parasite resistence.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Apr 20, 2013)

*Well now that I think about it the Katahdin probably is a really good cross. Good size, still a hair sheep, lots of meat, hardy, etc.

Mine aren't very friendly, but will come up to eat right next to me after I dump the hay in, thats about it. Can't pet them or anything.

But my ram is a lot friendlier, he is calmer too and more laid back, once you catch him you can hold him on a rope and he'll just stand there and let you do whatever. I think the lady said he spent some time in the house as a baby so he isn't as wild.

I couldn't believe how friendly the other ones were though! I am just blown away!

I need to trim my ram's feet too, LOL we'll have to come back here and regale ourselves with each others' stories.  *


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## alsea1 (Apr 20, 2013)

LOL  yeah. And post the injuries.  

LOL  When I got my sheep I put a leash on the ram and figured I would walk him to the pen.  Good lord.  That boy went straight up in the air the instant he felt the tention on the leash.  Then he jumped forward pulling me this way and that before he jerked free of me.
He was then loose. Lucky for me he went into the pen by himself.  So I decided that was a bad plan. LOL  The ewes I just bear hugged and carried to the pen.  
That ram packed that leash around for six months before I could get it off of him.  

So nope. They won't lead like a goat.  heehee.

Now I was able to stake out my Katahdin ewe and ram. They learned. Not as fast as the goats but they finally figured it out.
Lesson for newbies.  If you stake out a large sheep do not let that rope get tangled on you.  Yes, Found that out the hard way.  
Husband was on the phone so did not see I needed some help.  LOL  I was hog tied just about in seconds.  The more tangeld I got the more Jimbo pulled.  The lord was not ready for me I guess so I managed to disentangle myself and limp into the house.
That week I spent my vacation looking like I had undergone a violent attack. LOL


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Apr 21, 2013)

*Mine did lift his front end a bit up in the air when I first introduced the leash, but fortunately I am very strong and he was not able to pull away. Once he learned that he calmed right down. He'd stand there, but he definitely wouldn't walk.  The girls are much more flighty than he is and acted like crazy hellions on hooves. 

Where we live you cannot drive up to the pens, only the kawasaki mule or my very small pickup can get up there. So we actually had to lasso each individual sheep and pull it out of the horse trailer, wrestle it to the ground, hog tie it's feet, and then lift it into the back of the pickup and drive it up to the pen. That was fun. Not. 


Ouch on that one about the rope! Oiy! We were so tired from a whole day of wrestlin' sheep that we felt like we were run over by a truck! Definitely not a hobby for the faint! *


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