Ram friends?

[secuono]

Can rams make friends with horses? What about people?
My two ewes are more distant than they first were, I think it's because they are carrying lambs.
But my little ram, he went from 'oh crap, a person, hide behind the girls!' to 'hey, its the lady that gives great cheek rubs!'
Rarely he will test me when I pet him, but I just slap him across the face[cheek] and he stops being 'such a guy' and goes back to chin rubs.
He seems to love the cheek/chin scratches and lays his head in my lap. Stands there sniffing me or just lazily being pampered.
He plays with the pony, little head butts, nose sniffing and the such. They get along pretty well, if he had horns it might be a different story. But they don't have any, so the pony made friends, my mare isn't so keen about the pushiness of them.
So, can other animals and people befriend a ram? He doesn't test me after his half *ssed try and head butting me and getting slapped. He never bothers me what so ever unless I sit down to be with them and he comes over to say hello. He seems to be fairly ok with me being there, not taking any of his crap and coming and going in their lives.
I am aware of where they are and the such when I go into the field, but they totally ignore me unless I call out to them or show interest in them. Seems like their breeding time is over for this year, maybe next year will be different, but for now he is hardly even there, as a threat, danger or opponent.
Anyone have the same relationship and it changed? If so, what made it change, were there ever times things were cool again?

 

[Queen Mum]

I have a ram that is an absolutely lovely boy. He is sweet tempered and very gentle. NEVER a problem. He was a pain in the but until the landlord told him who was in charge and that changed everything. The ram charged him three times and the man just grabbed him by his horns and threw him on his keester. Since then, NEVER a problem. He will come up politely and ask for a treat and is very sweet.

 

[secuono]

I hope he stays nice or at least a slap across the face will always put him in his place. He's awesome, but gee he smells like sheep...ew.
It's not that bad, wonder if i ever goes away or what?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Hitting him anywhere in the head/face is just playing with him. That's what rams do to each other. Sorry to say I don't think he'll respect that for long. :/

 

[bonbean01]

I have to agree with Aggie...we made this mistake with our first ram and by age 3 he was downright dangerous!!! Slapping his face or anywhere near his head can be seen as a challenge...believe me, it gets worse when they get older! Our new ram lamb has responded well to a water pistol squirt on his back while saying...get back...now all I have to say is get back, and he listens. So hard to not pet him since he is such a good looking and friendly little guy...but we now know better!!! Good luck with your ram
Bonnie

 

[ShadyAcres]

The first ram I had accidentally wound up in the horse pasture. I only had 2 horses and they seemed to tolerate him so let it be. They became great buddies so I left him there. He remained calm throughout the time that I owned him (about 2 yrs). My next ram went to the horse pasture after being with the ewes. He too wound up loving the horses and stayed calm and gentle. When I put him in a pasture with ram lambs he broke out and rejoined his buds. However, as all horses will not tolerate or accept a ram it could be dangerous. A friend had a neighbors pony that got in the pasture with her ram and the ram wound up with a broken jaw from a kick. Sheep, be it ram or ewe, do not do well alone and need a companion. I believe that a non-competitive species for a buddy may help somewhat in keeping aggressive behavior at bay. My 3rd ram is with the ewes so will see what he does when I kick him out and put with the horses.

 

[Southdown]

Don't be friendly with your ram. I learned the hard way. We still have the same ram, but he is very dangerous and I won't go near home without a fence. You want the ram to fear you as a human and not be buddies with you. I didn't know a thing about sheep when we got ours. The history of our ram was bad enough that we should not have bought him; he was bottle fed by a nun and then lived in a children's petting area before being sold. So now he has no fear or respect for humans. Plus I was friendly with him when we bought him. Guess what happened next? I was shearing one of the ewes for the first time and Mr. Ram decided he wanted to try and kill me. He made a long run and butted me so hard in the knee (while I was bent over picking up wool) that I flew to the ground. He went at me a second time, by which I was screaming for my life. My husband ran in and scooped me out of there. I couldn't walk for a couple days. A month later I saw doctor and damage had been done, but no breaks. Over a year later and my knee is still not good. I really wish I would have learned more about rams before getting my sheep. I could have avoided the whole thing. We now keep him penned away and I won't go near him without husband around. We shear him together (for safety's sake).

 

[Cornish Heritage]

Don't be friendly with your ram. I learned the hard way. We still have the same ram, but he is very dangerous and I won't go near home without a fence. You want the ram to fear you as a human and not be buddies with you.

I have to agree with this & not quite sure how we are going to accomplish it with all the new ram lambs on the ground & young children BUT our main breeding rams (8 of them) are down in a far pasture with some young cows. We cannot get near them - they were trained by the previous owner to move away & I am SO glad. Someone else gave us another ram & sadly we petted him too much. He is now in a small area destined for lamb chops. He is way too dangerous. Although he has not "rammed" us he has threatened us & I always tie him up to go in there & will no longer let the kids go in there unless we are there. Just haven't got around to butchering him yet.

Rams can be extremely dangerous & they will not just butt once but keep butting you. Please do not risk yourself or anyone else.

Liz

 

[carolinagirl]

I have one ram that's overly friendly with me. He loves my Anatolian Shepherds too. When I go in that pen, I carry a 2' long piece of 2x2 in case I need to whack him. My other ram...he keeps his distance but I don't trust the look he has in his eyes. I carry a stout stick in that pen too. Never trust a ram....especially a friendly one.

 

[secuono]

Well, so far mine is totally fine unless he wants pellets. Even then, he's butting the ewes and not me. He's a tiny breed of sheep with no horns, so you guys saying extreme danger is just too much. Anyway, he lives with the girls and horses, so no friends needed.