# another stupid sheep question  :)



## boykin2010 (Dec 11, 2010)

ok i am sorry but i am inexperienced and i want to know all i can before getting sheep.   is it ok to keep a ram with ewes all the time or is this bad?

if i am not supposed too do i build another pen for him?  when do i let the ram in with the ewes.  if the ram is by himself will he get lonely?


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## ksalvagno (Dec 11, 2010)

One thing to consider with just letting the ram run with the females is that you will never know when they are due to give birth. I don't have sheep but I keep my bucks away from my does (goats). I don't want pregnant females to have the aggravation of a buck bothering them. Plus if they keep trying to breed them, the bucks can cause an abortion. I don't know if the same problem can happen in sheep.


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## patandchickens (Dec 11, 2010)

One advantage of separating the ram (mine has a wether friend) is that you can work among the ewes without having to constantly watch your back and do ram-management maneuvers. To me this is a nontrivial thing... I was planning on leaving my ram with the ewes til spring but now I dunno, it's gettin' kind of 'old'.

Pat


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## theawesomefowl (Dec 11, 2010)

boykin, DON't get  a ram. (unless you have experience previously) They can hurt you!!! You can get the females bred by AI or use someone else's ram for a fee.


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## Beekissed (Dec 11, 2010)

Not all rams hurt people, so don't get that into your head.  

But Pat has a point...they do have the potential to just be rams and they have funny notions, especially when your back is turned or you are bent over filling a bucket of water, etc.  

Sheep don't really do well with AI, from all that I've read.  

If you are only running a few head, you can try a few things.  You can borrow/rent a ram from someone you trust and who trusts you.

Or you can buy a ram lamb, use him for the breeding season and then resell him at the livestock auction.  As he is still considered a lamb, you can sell him for the meat market and usually not be out of pocket and may even make a slight profit, according to what the current market prices may be.  

Ram lambs are still like mama's boys and are not as feisty as a full grown and proven breeder, easier managed, IMO. 

I am borrowing a ram lamb from my breeder and will return him to the same place.  I know his flock genetics, their general health and his husbandry practices....this gives me reassurance that I won't be bringing anything bad home to my girls.  He knows the same thing about me, so he is willing to do a loaner ram.  Nice guy!

If you are going to own your own ram you need a place where you can pen him separate from the girls when you don't want them bred and it better be a place where they cannot jump out....sheep like to be together, even if you give him a companion.  They just naturally want to be with the herd.


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