Rams?? Aptness for aggression by breed?

[bloonskiller911]

so we have a Suffolk ram. he just turned a little over a year old. he has been with our 5 ewes since September. we have never had a problem out of him, until three days ago. he was always interested in the ewes while in heat and then even after for the last 3 months he ignores everyone, which is the way I like it. three days ago I went to the barn and while latching the gate he came after me. luckily I looked up soon enough that he only grazed my leg. I let him come at me again and at the last minute moved and swatted his lower jaw as I had been told was a deterrent. seemed to work for about 30 minutes and he did it again. I banned my wife and daughter from feeding so the last two days he has tried it again. yesterday I had enough. I flipped him like we used to do calves when he came at me and drug him to a stall and penned him and the billy up. we are new to sheep but my father-in-law has had them for several years. he says that all of his suffolks tend to lose fear and get aggressive. so my question is, is this true? are some breeds more apt to be aggressive than others? we have been looking into adding a north country cheviot buck to breed through our ewes and a i heard they are more flighty, maybe meaning they would be less aggressive. any input would be great! Thanks for any replies in advance.

I also wondered if maybe since the ewes are with in a month of lambing if they are not producing a hormone that is making him act like this, any thoughts?

 

[bonbean01]

Not sure about what kinds of breeds are more aggressive...here we've had Katahdin and Dorper and crosses...and rams are rams...swatting them, throwing them down...hasn't worked here. This year got an electric prod...he has been zapped when coming after us, and now that makes him keep his distance...but ONLY if we are carrying it. Will be interested to read this thread as I have no clue if some breeds are better or not?

 

[purplequeenvt]

Border Leicester rams are known for their calm, gentlemanly disposition.

 

[Bossroo]

I raised purebred Suffolk rams for ram sales for many years. I could walk into a pen containing 50-70 rams without fear of being attacked. Same with breeding rams each out in a pasture with 30 ewes. Same with friends who had Hampshire, Dorset, and Southdown rams. I didn't have any experience with Dorper rams while I raised sheep as they were not here yet, However all of the ones that I was around since have been quite docile. While the white face ( especially horned) wool breed rams I had to keep my eyes always open ( even at the back of my head) or risk an assault.

 

[SheepGirl]

I've been around three purchased purebred Babydoll rams...all but one had rammed into me. I've been around their sons, maybe four or five intact rams, two of them purebred. The crosses were crossed with Montadale. I had only been rammed by two of them, one cross and one purebred.

I also have a Texel ram. His first fall here he would ram into me. His second fall here (this year) he hasn't bothered me at all. I also have two intact crossbred sons (Texel x Montadale x Babydoll Southdown) of his, they haven't tried to touch me at all.

So IME breed doesn't matter, but the way they're raised/treated.

 

[BrownSheep]

Rams are rams. I think the smaller the operation the more likely they are to go mean.

The second a ram stops fearing you is the second you are in trouble.

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I have 7 rams of 3 breeds currently and in my experience there are differences between breeds. One of my breeds would never even dream of hurting someone, one is pushy and needs boundaries set early, and one just tries to stay away unless cornered. That said management and how you raise them makes a huge difference between individuals.

 

[bonbean01]

I totally agree with that. Took me awhile to realize that even doing it all right with a new ram lamb, problem here is that we have daily contact which I'm thinking is not the way to go. Not as in touching and petting contact...just close proximity. But with a very small herd and limited land, we now accept that. We aren't doing anything wrong with the handling...it is the set up here. Ram keeps a distance from us when we carry the hot rod zapper and don't have to use it...he's been zapped twice and we know if we are not carrying it, we are at risk of being rammed.

 

[luvmypets]

Our Ram Reggie is like a dog. He's sweet comes up to you. But lately he hasn't been so sweet, he rears straight up and rams into me.. It's not aggressive but it hurts. Makes it hard to check on a possibly pregnant ewe. What should I do

 

[bonbean01]

Separate him...we are limited in our set up here, so put up fencing within the paddock so that he can have company through the fence. If he rams a pregnant ewe, that is not a good thing. Meant a separate hay feeder, and pellet feeder and water and his own shelter.