Wolfemomma - Our Homestead Journey

[Baymule]

Your flock is growing! Funny how in a few weeks time of lambing, it is a population explosion! Love it!

 

[WolfeMomma]

Your flock is growing! Funny how in a few weeks time of lambing, it is a population explosion! Love it!

yeah Im so excited for lambing season!! Babies from some pretty awesome show lines. Fingers crossed for some good ones. I keep telling my husband that sheep are like potato chips. Cant have just one.

 

[WolfeMomma]

Supposed to snow tonight/tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. Got some second cut hay in storage finally. I think we are all set for winter. I am going to do a search here on the forum to look at some advice for a cranky ram. Ours is just getting worse. He doesn't run and head butt you. But he walks up stands right beside you and swings his head sideways really hard. Ugh he was such a good boy....now he just seems grumpy

 

[Mike CHS]

I haven't seen many posts about dealing with grumpy rams but I know I have seen some.

 

[Baymule]

He is testing you. Slap his face-hard and yell NO! Make him move his feet. In animal language, the loser runs away, the winner makes the other one move their feet. Assert dominance over him. You can crowd him by walking into him saying AAHHNNTT! When he moves away, stop, don’t chase him.

I never did this, but I have read where some people have thrown their ram on the ground and sat on him.

You have to make him stop, he will get bolder.

I had one that I shook plastic grocery bags at, he was absolutely terrified of them. He always had a bad attitude so we sent him to freezer camp.

 

[WolfeMomma]

He is testing you. Slap his face-hard and yell NO! Make him move his feet. In animal language, the loser runs away, the winner makes the other one move their feet. Assert dominance over him. You can crowd him by walking into him saying AAHHNNTT! When he moves away, stop, don’t chase him.

I never did this, but I have read where some people have thrown their ram on the ground and sat on him.

You have to make him stop, he will get bolder.

I had one that I shook plastic grocery bags at, he was absolutely terrified of them. He always had a bad attitude so we sent him to freezer camp.

he will leave me alone for the most part if i have the spray bottle. He doesn't like when i put vinegar in it
My husband flips him but I struggle. He is already over 160 lbs. But I need to get this handled because once he is over 250lbs I'm not gonna have a hope in hell of wrestling his butt to the ground. Its weird, some days he is not interested in me at all. Other days he will not leave me alone. He will follow me around the pasture doing his stupid head swinging thing. I have tried to scare him to get him to run away...and he looks at me like im an idiot I haven't tried to swing around a plastic bag though....good idea!!

 

[WolfeMomma]

I am pretty sure the neighbors probably think I'm crazy running around with spray bottles and pitch forks yelling NO

 

[Baymule]

He is halter broke, isn't he? Maybe tie him up while you are in his pen or pasture. Some rams are just rams and that's how nature programmed them. He may be going through a teenager phase or this may be the new normal, time will tell.

My husband thought I was beyond nuts for wanting to go the Tennessee to get Ringo. He started off pretty ok at the first of the trip, but the closer we got, the more he griped and complained. By the time we got there, he was on non-stop b!tching. After meeting Ringo, he understood why I wanted him so badly. Our granddaughters love to go in with the sheep and I wanted Ringo for his calm, gentle attitude. Now, he loves the attention they give him. I do watch, he is a ram, but I am confident in Ringo. Haha, on the way back home, my husband bragged on Ringo all the way. It was 1,354 miles round trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat for Ringo. Mike says Ringo passes on his calm nature to his lambs, I need to get a few registered ewes so I can keep one of his sons.

 

[WolfeMomma]

He is halter broke, isn't he? Maybe tie him up while you are in his pen or pasture. Some rams are just rams and that's how nature programmed them. He may be going through a teenager phase or this may be the new normal, time will tell.

My husband thought I was beyond nuts for wanting to go the Tennessee to get Ringo. He started off pretty ok at the first of the trip, but the closer we got, the more he griped and complained. By the time we got there, he was on non-stop b!tching. After meeting Ringo, he understood why I wanted him so badly. Our granddaughters love to go in with the sheep and I wanted Ringo for his calm, gentle attitude. Now, he loves the attention they give him. I do watch, he is a ram, but I am confident in Ringo. Haha, on the way back home, my husband bragged on Ringo all the way. It was 1,354 miles round trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat for Ringo. Mike says Ringo passes on his calm nature to his lambs, I need to get a few registered ewes so I can keep one of his sons.

Yes he is very much halter trained from showing. He is a different sheep when in his halter, he respects the chain. He stands great in the show ring, when practicing, when he gets brushed and a bath. He is a complete gentleman until the halter comes off lol I wouldn't say he is mean, its like he is in that teenager testing limits phase of his life lol that and all the ewes are bred and have no interest in him AT ALL. so he bugs me and I tend to be his main focus when im out in the pasture or in his pen

 

[Baymule]

You have a challenge in front of you. Keep posting on what you do, what works and what doesn't. You training him might help some one else with a snotty brat ram.