We went to town and filed for the drought assistance with the USDA office. It is a wee bit less than last year but it is an uncounted late summer bonus. We had 44 sheep at the due date but you max out at 3 sheep per acre which comes to a max of 28 head for us.
Today has been a mostly watch football kind of day. I'm still limited in what I can do but I am still trying to be a good boy. I can mow and did so with the zero turn for a couple of hours yesterday but even that one causes issues the next day. There are a few places that I need to use the riding mower but that doesn't get done because I can't turn the steering wheel.
The only sheep that are getting messed with right now are Jack and Toby (the young rams). I mess with the young rams to give them opportunities to head butt but make it a painful process. Neither of these young rams have tried to head butt me in over a month and they come into the shop to get their back scratches and animal crackers. There is a lot of sheep growers that think this is a mistake but I have been doing it for almost 10 years and will continue to do so.
Both Rocky and little Ringo were friendly as youngsters, then realized they had testicles. They got fiesty. They have calmed down, I give them treats but neither one is as friendly as Cooper or Ringo. I’m hoping that with age, they get more friendly. Rocky challenged me for the longest, I’d make him move his feet. He’s finally calming down and not threatening me. In 20 days I’m going to pull Little Ringo out of the field with ewes and put him back with Rocky. I may put him back in his pen first to give him time to settle down, then open the gate between them. I haven’t had much experience with multiple rams so it should be interesting.
Being the recipient of 2 of your adult, older rams, I can vouch for your methods. I just do what you do. Rocky is coming around to having the sides of his face stroked.