# How old are these rams?



## Skiesblue (Nov 21, 2018)




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## Skiesblue (Nov 21, 2018)

I have papers that state these guys are 2-4 years old. I’ve not had a chance to look at teeth but horn growth doesn’t reckon up with my experience. They’re nice though.


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## promiseacres (Nov 22, 2018)

I would say older on those big boys.... younger on the little ones. Pretty rams.


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## secuono (Nov 22, 2018)

Hopefully the papers match the scrapie tags. 

Idk squat about horned beasts.


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## Sheepshape (Nov 22, 2018)

Lovely looking rams.

The teeth are key. There are no upper incisors, so you need only to see the bottom gum.

Rule of thumb..... Look at the the midline of the lower jaw....if there's no permanent teeth to either side of the midline....under a year old. One permanent incisor to either side of the midline = 1 year old, 2 permanent incisors to either side of the midline (i.e 4 permanent incisors in total)= 2 years old, 3 permanent incisors to either side of the midline (i.e 6 in total)=3, 4 permanent incisors to either side of the midline (i.e 8 permanent incisors in total) = 4 years or more year sold. 8 permanent incisors is the total they get and is also know as a 'full mouthed' sheep. As they get older then  gum recession occurs a.k.a 'long in the tooth', tooth breakage ('broken mouthed' or 'brokers') and may even end up with total tooth loss due to breakage and caries, when they are known as 'gummers'. Sheep still do pretty well without incisors as long as they have grinding molars left.


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## Latestarter (Nov 22, 2018)

I was always under the impression that those "knots" in the horns were like tree rings... or rattles on a rattle snake (one per shed)... one per year of growth. So that being the case, those two big boys up front would be 6-8 years old.


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## Skiesblue (Nov 22, 2018)

Thanks everyone. I will check teeth. Thankfully nobody has squared off as my ewes are bred.


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## Baymule (Nov 22, 2018)

Drop dead gorgeous is what they are! OK you got to tell us the back story on these guys and whatever are you going to do with them?


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## Roving Jacobs (Nov 23, 2018)

Horns don't grow evenly across the lifespan of the sheep, they grow much faster the first couple of years. It looks like you got a handful of lambs there but the big horned boys could be 2-4 if they're from a line bred to put on a lot of horn fast. Check the teeth for sure but as long as the tags match up I'd buy that age.


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## Roving Jacobs (Nov 23, 2018)

The guy up front with the scrape on his nose has 3, maybe 4, big ruts in his horns where he was a little run down, probably he was breeding or it was winter and not getting as good nutrition. That would support him being 4-ish and just being bred for horns that grow rapidly the first few years. You can also see how much growth happened between the tip and that first rut compared to the growth between the following ruts.


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## Carla D (Nov 23, 2018)

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that type of sheep before. The ones we typically see in this area are pretty wooly, no horns, mostly white/whitish. I don’t know one thing about sheep. But your sheep are beautiful and look quite exotic. What breed of sheep are they and what’s their main purpose or use?


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## Skiesblue (Nov 23, 2018)

Carla D said:


> I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that type of sheep before. The ones we typically see in this area are pretty wooly, no horns, mostly white/whitish. I don’t know one thing about sheep. But your sheep are beautiful and look quite exotic. What breed of sheep are they and what’s their main purpose or use?


These are hair sheep. They typically have hair rather than fleece although they often grow and shed a fleece as weather dictates. The fleeces are not good for spinning. Hair sheep are grown for meat and the horns have a variety of uses including the Jewish shofar trumpet.


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## Skiesblue (Nov 23, 2018)

Baymule said:


> Drop dead gorgeous is what they are! OK you got to tell us the back story on these guys and whatever are you going to do with them?


Purchased in a reduction sale. Can’t keep em all so for sale. I’d like to share the genetics. They’ve done a little squabbling but are a calm group for now. My ewes are all bred so no serious fights. They are used to LGDs.


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## Carla D (Nov 24, 2018)

Skiesblue said:


> These are hair sheep. They typically have hair rather than fleece although they often grow and shed a fleece as weather dictates. The fleeces are not good for spinning. Hair sheep are grown for meat and the horns have a variety of uses including the Jewish shofar trumpet.


Thank you.


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## Mini Horses (Nov 24, 2018)

The big guys up front have some real horn growth -- the picturesque "stay away from them" look.


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## B&B Happy goats (Nov 24, 2018)

They are beautiful  animals.... i would love to get my hands on a set of horns like that, they are just stunning.


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