Ram seems to be getting aggressive.

[halfacrehomesteader]

I have 2 ewes and in October I bought a ram so that I could breed them. He is a young ram and my plan was to use him this year and next then either sell him. Or process him before he got too big for me to deal with. I was hoping some of the rammy behavior would hold off until he was closer to being full grown. He has in the past couple of days though started to show some aggressive behavior. Anytime I have been near him he has rammed me. He doesn't do it very hard but needless to say it is making me nervous to be around him. I think it is best to go ahead and process him but I'm scared to transport him anywhere. I just transported him in my van when we got him but with him showing some aggression I don't think it's a good idea to transport him that way. Does anyone have any ideas of what can be done in this kind of situation? I'm also a bit worried that I seen him curling his lip today and smelling at one of my ewes. I believe she is pregnant but now I'm worried something might be wrong there? I noticed the other day she has been sticking her tail out for no reason and wondered if that has something to do with pregnancy or if she isn't pregnant after all. I'm so confused. I'm new to all of this and have been fine but suddenly am feeling very much out of my element. Any input I would greatly appreciate.

 

[Baymule]

Curling his lip up at the ewes may be a sign that she is in estrus, ready to breed. I have a young ram that gets a little rambunctious. I’m very careful with him.

Rule #1. NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A RAM.

I carry a hoe handle in with me. I don’t whack him with it, that is their language and only encourages him to fight more. Rams back up and bash their heads together. That is their dominant language. I poke my ram, hard. Poke is not his language. Now when he sees the hoe handle, he does not challenge me. As he is aging, he’s 3, he’s calming down. The other ram with him has a better disposition but was also “rammy” . My oldest ram is a sweetheart and loves for my granddaughters to pet him, hug him and shower him with attention. But I caution them, he’s still a ram!

Do NOT let your ram hit you again. Watch his every move. They can be real sneaky.

What breed is your ram? Some are more aggressive than others. What breed are your ewes and how old are they?


@Ridgetop
@Mike CHS
Thoughts?

 

[SageHill]

MY ram is 2 1/2. He's pretty cool, loves animal crackers, loves going out to graze. BUT he IS a ram. While he has not tried to ram me, or my working dogs, I always have an eye on him. When moving him in and out of the barn or his night stall I always have a rattle paddle. Usually just having it in hand is enough. When I need it I gently rattle it and he complies - move, go, move away. Most of the time I just have it in my hand.
The times I use it he gets a hard look in his eyes. To me that's him thinking he may be able to best me - I break that thought rattling the paddle. So far that works and he is a nice ram and still young (though 250# at last weigh in).
I'm still new to this breeding and raising, but not new to being around sheep been around them training dogs since 1983-ish???
Like everyone has said - don't turn your back on him and have something in hand to use in your favor.

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

Curling his lip up at the ewes may be a sign that she is in estrus, ready to breed. I have a young ram that gets a little rambunctious. I’m very careful with him.

Rule #1. NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A RAM.

I carry a hoe handle in with me. I don’t whack him with it, that is their language and only encourages him to fight more. Rams back up and bash their heads together. That is their dominant language. I poke my ram, hard. Poke is not his language. Now when he sees the hoe handle, he does not challenge me. As he is aging, he’s 3, he’s calming down. The other ram with him has a better disposition but was also “rammy” . My oldest ram is a sweetheart and loves for my granddaughters to pet him, hug him and shower him with attention. But I caution them, he’s still a ram!

Do NOT let your ram hit you again. Watch his every move. They can be real sneaky.

What breed is your ram? Some are more aggressive than others. What breed are your ewes and how old are they?


@Ridgetop
@Mike CHS
Thoughts?

Thanks for the response. They are all katahdins. I would be so surprised if either of the ewes are in estrus. I haven't seen any behavior from him since late October so I assumed they were both pregnant. It has me a bit worried now. They are both pretty big but my tan one is the biggest of the two and that's the one he keeps smelling. I haven't seen him mount though and I have been trying to keep an eye out today. If she is pregnant she would be due in March. I noticed she keeps sticking her tail straight out. That is I guess a sign of labor but she would be too early for that. I am attaching a pic of both of their bellies and of her sticking her tail out.

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

MY ram is 2 1/2. He's pretty cool, loves animal crackers, loves going out to graze. BUT he IS a ram. While he has not tried to ram me, or my working dogs, I always have an eye on him. When moving him in and out of the barn or his night stall I always have a rattle paddle. Usually just having it in hand is enough. When I need it I gently rattle it and he complies - move, go, move away. Most of the time I just have it in my hand.
The times I use it he gets a hard look in his eyes. To me that's him thinking he may be able to best me - I break that thought rattling the paddle. So far that works and he is a nice ram and still young (though 250# at last weigh in).
I'm still new to this breeding and raising, but not new to being around sheep been around them training dogs since 1983-ish???
Like everyone has said - don't turn your back on him and have something in hand to use in your favor.

Thanks for the reply. I have never heard of a rattle paddle! I will have to look that up. I'm thinking a ram for me might be too much. I wouldn't have known though if I hadn't tried. That's how I will find out what works for us and what doesn't.

 

[Mini Horses]

Is she bagging at all? Ligaments gone?

My buck will periodically run over & smell a goat as she urinates. Very in considerate!! But boys will be boys. Your ram may just be checking her. They take their jobs seriously

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

Is she bagging at all? Ligaments gone?

My buck will periodically run over & smell a goat as she urinates. Very in considerate!! But boys will be boys. Your ram may just be checking her. They take their jobs seriously

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

Thanks for the reply. I haven't noticed any bagging. I hadn't heard of the ligament checking. I am truly going into this blind. I have watched so many videos and read so many blogs but it seems like I never truly get it till I go through it . I will have to look up some YouTube videos with the ligament checking. Thanks.

 

[Ridgetop]

I made some ram sticks - lengths of closet rod with a hole drilled in one end to pass a piece of hay rope through to tie off in a loop. The string is to hang them on any fence where we may move a ram. If you don't want to hit him with a piece of wood, you can use a length of 1" PVC pipe. That will not be as hard on him, but if he is already ramming you you need to use it to whack him across the nose when he takes a run at you.

We keep several rams and they are pretty mellow but WE NEVER TURN OUR BACKS ON THEM. They are White Dorpers and live together except when breeding the flock. We don't make pets of our rams, but snce they know that catching one of them and putting on the marking harness means a good time with the ladies, they can be handled. When I feed grain in the pasture I keep my eye on them.

Year ago DS1 had a Hampshire ram as big as a Shetland pony. He was a show ram, won a lot, and was really beautiful. He sired nice lambs but was deadly in a pen. He would charge you and was dangerous. DS1 could enter the pen and catch him, but I would not. When I needed to catch him, I would drop hay through into the feeder in his pen and get hold of him with my shepherd's crook. Then I would put the halter on him, tie him to the manger, and only then could I enter the pen. He was fine on a halter from being shown. DH and D1 are both very big men and that ram caught both of them off guard at different times and sent them flying. After that they did not enter the pen without a ram stick.

 

[halfacrehomesteader]

I made some ram sticks - lengths of closet rod with a hole drilled in one end to pass a piece of hay rope through to tie off in a loop. The string is to hang them on any fence where we may move a ram. If you don't want to hit him with a piece of wood, you can use a length of 1" PVC pipe. That will not be as hard on him, but if he is already ramming you you need to use it to whack him across the nose when he takes a run at you.

We keep several rams and they are pretty mellow but WE NEVER TURN OUR BACKS ON THEM. They are White Dorpers and live together except when breeding the flock. We don't make pets of our rams, but snce they know that catching one of them and putting on the marking harness means a good time with the ladies, they can be handled. When I feed grain in the pasture I keep my eye on them.

Year ago DS1 had a Hampshire ram as big as a Shetland pony. He was a show ram, won a lot, and was really beautiful. He sired nice lambs but was deadly in a pen. He would charge you and was dangerous. DS1 could enter the pen and catch him, but I would not. When I needed to catch him, I would drop hay through into the feeder in his pen and get hold of him with my shepherd's crook. Then I would put the halter on him, tie him to the manger, and only then could I enter the pen. He was fine on a halter from being shown. DH and D1 are both very big men and that ram caught both of them off guard at different times and sent them flying. After that they did not enter the pen without a ram stick.

I knew when we got him that he can't be treated like a pet. I never hand feed him or pet him but I guess from seeing me with the two ewes and being we don't actually have a typical farm setting he quickly realized I'm nothing to be scared of . I will definitely be using a stick from now on. I think I bit off more than I could chew getting a ram. My original plan was to rent one but I hadn't found anyone local I could rent one from.