The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Liz Kershaw on June 25, 2016, 09:13:12 am

Title: When do ram lambs become fertile?
Post by: Liz Kershaw on June 25, 2016, 09:13:12 am

I've got twin ram lambs born 23rd April so now 2 months old. They are in with my small flock - 6 ewes and a wether. I didn't wether them at birth as they have s stonking pedigree with some good bloodlines so I wanted to see how well they did as potential Rams. I'm still undecided but it has occurred to me that they will at some point become fertile and could cause an accident with their female companions. When should I separate them?

Title: Re: When do ram lambs become fertile?
Post by: Marches Farmer on June 25, 2016, 10:32:50 am

I generally wean at 16 weeks and separate the ram lambs then.  My April born ram lambs will certainly be fit for tupping by October.

Title: Re: When do ram lambs become fertile?
Post by: Hellybee on June 25, 2016, 11:00:29 am

Agree with Marches.   We have had the occasional surprise early lamb,   So yes come weaning time  they can do the job.      You got plenty of time time yet x

Title: Re: When do ram lambs become fertile?
Post by: Liz Kershaw on June 25, 2016, 11:42:37 am

Thanks both. I will relax for another month ...

Title: Re: When do ram lambs become fertile?
Post by: twizzel on June 25, 2016, 08:33:25 pm

We had this exact conversation this week and had our only ram lamb (the rest were ringed at birth) castrated yesterday as he was starting to get a bit keen, he was mid march born  :relief: he isn't going to be finished until November and we don't really have anywhere to separate him off from August onwards so vet castrating was the best option. Turns out he was a rig too so not the most straightforward op but all sorted now.

Title: Re: When do ram lambs become fertile?
Post by: Jullienne on June 26, 2016, 03:48:47 pm

It really depends on what breeds of sheep they're, the friesland tups are ready in about 5 months. I have one born Jan and he is trying to tup the ewes now, so nearly 5 months, also depends how large they are. The frieslands are early developers, not sure about a lot of other breeds. If I can recollect Welsh are like the Lleyns and don't tend to work until about 8-10 months, they start showing interest at about 3-4 months, but that is just play and they can't work until about 8-10 months, depending on size too. All of these are factors, growth, weight and age. I have noticed sometimes that if their weight isn't as good as it could be they don't show a huge desire. I could be wrong of course, this is just my experience.