# Should I get a Ram?



## Aped (Sep 16, 2010)

I've posted on here about this before. Going through different breeds. I just have one ewe but it's such a hassle to find someone with a ram I can use to breed her. I talked to someone in spring to use their finn-dorset ram on my ewe. But now the logistics of getting this ewe to where the ram is and the fact that my ewe will be screaming the whole way and probably completely scared and lost when she gets there is making me wonder if I should get a ram. Plus if I have her bred to a finn-dorset, the lambs will not shed so I really couldn't keep another ewe if I wanted to because I don't wan to deal with shearing. 

However, I don't have much space. My ewe is with my nigerian does and my ram would have to be with my nigerian bucks...or perhaps outside of the goat pen but within my mostly fenced yard? Do rams try to get out of fencing like goats? Do katahdin/dorper ram crosses get huge? And more importantly, will a mature one kill my bucks? 

Besides the hassle of getting my ewe bred off my property, I started thinking about this again because I saw this ad on CL. 

http://york.craigslist.org/grd/1920520183.html

The price for one of these just seems really good, so any thoughts?


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## ksalvagno (Sep 16, 2010)

What about using him to breed your ewe and then putting him in the freezer?


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## Aped (Sep 16, 2010)

I thought about that considering the age and price they're probably ready to butcher. However I can't do it myself so I would have to find a processor to do it. I guess that wouldn't be too hard though.


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## ksalvagno (Sep 16, 2010)

I wouldn't think it would be too hard to find a processor but I do have several in my area so i don't have to worry about that. I bet a quick search online or in your phone book would find at least one.


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## Aped (Sep 16, 2010)

Actually I found there is one about 10 minutes from me. Maybe I will find out about pricing and procedures before take the plunge. But I can honestly say if I were to buy the black one in that craigslist ad, no one would be eating it because it would become a lawn ornament for me to look at!


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## aggieterpkatie (Sep 17, 2010)

Aped, I sent you a message.


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## abooth (Sep 17, 2010)

I bought a ram to breed my one ewe.  I really enjoy having him.  At first I was a little intimidated but he is surprisingly well behaved.   And he is beautiful!  He is still a lamb so not a huge animal for me to learn with.  By the time he is full grown I hope to be an expert in sheep handling.  Every time I have handled him he has struggled less than the time before.  Catching him is the hardest part.


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## nissa_loves_cats (Oct 17, 2010)

A ram would have to be kept away from your FEMALE goats as they can get female goats pregnant, though the female goats almost never carry the hybrid babies to term.

One can keep rams together with male goats but it's similar to introducing a new male goat into the buck pen--- you have to keep an eye out at first to see if anyone is getting bullied.


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