The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on August 06, 2012, 05:37:19 pm
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Didn't have this issue with last years bottle lambs but this years texelXSuffolks have taken to jumping up when we are plum picking (like a badly behaved dog might for a titbit). They are hefty boys already and it hurts me so I'm keen to break this bad behaviour before they deck one of the kids!
I've tried doing a swift step so they just fall to the ground, tried pushing (but don't want them to think I'm encouraging rough tussle behaviour) and a sharp, firm NO! but is there a tried and tested method I should follow please?
they never did it as tiny lambs, little toads they are.
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hi,
you cant stop them from jumping up.
male pet lambs can be nasty/turn into nasty rams, and the more you push back against them etc. the more they want to jump up.
katy :)
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You could try a water pistol, with the firm NO!
Are they entire or wethers? Katy has a point, it was a petted tup lamb I bought that gave me a black eye as a shearing.
I'm not sure he meant any harm but he seemed not to make the usual distinction between people and sheep and therefore treated people accordingly - and for some reason he seemed to think I needed butting all the way across the field every day :-\ Fending him off with a crook as yet again he attacked me, it got caught, flipped and cut open my eyebrow. Blood everywhere and the most amazing black eye. The kids at school were very impressed ;)
So be careful and have the kids be careful too :-*
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Oh bum!! not good news.
they are castrated and there's 3 of them, only 2 have decided to jump. will get my water pistol out.
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They have to learn that they are sheep. That means not petting them any more and not being in the field with them. It seems mean, but by ignoring them you will reinforce that they are different. Can you put them into a field away from you for a bit?
There is lots of discussion on other chat sites about whether or not you should smack them on the nose - it seems not to be a good idea as it seems like fighting to sheep, in which case if you smack them on the nose they will just smack you back. We did once have a very pushy ewe lamb who as she grew got worse and would try to nose dive into the feed bucket in the winter. She eventually got over it when we simply never let her have any food from the bucket, just from the trough. We would turn our backs on her as you would to a naughty puppy and she would just wander off. It was so tempting to go after her to say sorry ::) ;D She now belongs to friends and is a very happy not pushy sheep.
It is a shame when it has been such fun having them as cuddly lambs, but cuddly lambs do become big, smelly, pushy sheep, unfortunately.
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That's what I would call woolly jumpers, sorry but could not resist :excited:
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So glad you asked this question Plums. Now I'm off to buy a water pistol tomorrow too. I have a TexelxCharollais and he jumps up like a naughty dog ::) and it hurts! I have also seen him on his hind legs balancing to get the low apple tree branches in the orchard. Think he is destined for Britains Got Talent!! I'll see if I can get him to twirl to music. ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Plums, a couple of my Soay ewes jump up like dogs. They are only little sheep and it hasn't caused any problems yet. They weren't pet lambs and when we had them they were really nervous so its not just pet lambs that do it. My children are old enough not to get knocked over though.
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Some very helpful advice - thank you. Right from getting these 3 we avoided cuddling or being too soft with them (after that first day that is!) so I think its because we are plum picking and they are after plums. When the goat kid tried jumping up we were firm right from the start and now he never does it (had visions of a 14 stone toggenburg jumping up!) hoping the sheep will be fairly simple to break of the habit iwth the ignoring etc
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I read somewhere that a punch on the nose is the key, it hurts them but isn't a 'challenge'.
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That's what I would call woolly jumpers, sorry but could not resist :excited:
:D :D
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We have a ram (4 horned jacob) that is 'nasty' - he spent some time in a friends paddock and kept jumping out. They were scared of him (understandably) so they tempted him back into the field with bread. The ram then decided that if he jumped out and threatened them they would reward him with a trail of bread back to the field. We brought him home and made a 'catching' pen by the gate as we needed a stick as protection to go into the field and put the hens to bed at night. In the pen we put a bowl of food and locked him in. We went about our business in the field and then let him out. After a while he started to put himself in the pen with no food! Now we can do anything we like with him.
I think it was because he was being rewarded for being 'naughty'. We only rewarded him when he was good.
He is now so well behaved that he is winning child handler competitons. :excited:
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A tripto market or the butcher is the only cure. Sorry :innocent: :sheep:
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A tripto market or the butcher is the only cure. Sorry :innocent: :sheep:
I'll threaten them with that and invest in a water pistol - see how we go ;)
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They aren't actually being aggressive, are they? I can understand that they might unintentionally hurt someone but really they are just jumping up for food.
If you stop feeding them for a while and maybe just clap your hands as they approach wouldn't they back off? I let mine jump up .... need them tame to catch the little tinkers and these very tame girls give the others confidence but if I did a bit of arm waving they would scatter. Or maybe some breeds wouldn't and would be more like the tup we hired ??? . He was actually (for a reason .... his girls) aggressive though ... butting etc.[size=78%] [/size]
Butcher ... sounds a bit drastic. :o
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I have a ram lamb (non bottle fed I might add!) who is a bit too friendly. I treat him like a parent sheep would do, I give him a big shove on the shoulder to push him away and follow it up with a stern walk towards him, and repeat until he backs away.
You have to keep at it and be consistent.
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Sorry about the butcher comment should have used a :-J, you could try wearing chaps so their feet don't dig into your legs!
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;D ;D ;D Phew!
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Stop feeding them. :P
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Definitely not jumping up with aggression but I think they just don't realise how mahooooosive they are now. They grew really fast (due to the breeding I guess!) and are twice the size of most lambs in the area of the same age ;D
They just jump up for attention in a doggy way so we are being very vigilant and stepping away so if they try to jump up, they miss haha!
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Definitely not jumping up with aggression but I think they just don't realise how mahooooosive they are now. They grew really fast (due to the breeding I guess!) and are twice the size of most lambs in the area of the same age ;D
They just jump up for attention in a doggy way so we are being very vigilant and stepping away so if they try to jump up, they miss haha!
Same here Plums - didn't get out for the water pistol today so the side stepping continues. He has only tried once today anyway so its not really a big problem. They are further away from the house now they are weaned so spend more time doing sheepy things in the orchard! :sheep: :sheep:
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Of course stopping Eloise from feeding them plums might help....
(http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/itsbaaathtime/weezfeedplumssheep.jpg)
Pied piper?! Yes....quite likely the main problem. No more treats sheepies!
(http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af154/itsbaaathtime/weezpiedpiper.jpg)
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;D
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love the photo ...
who's the little tubby one at the back, struggling to keep up with the sheep whisperer?! :D
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Oh that's Nimble - she has to walk next to me whatever happens (even if she has to barge Tony out of the way to do so) so she was hanging back while I took the photo!
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I have the problem with my ewes, especially those I've had since young. They all crowd me if they think I've got food and some will jump up, but if I wave my hands at them or act like I'm about to catch them they usually scarper ;D .
With the rams it's different, they are friendly but also see me as fair 'butting' game which I don't want to be on the receiving end of!! :o I haven't yet tried the water pistol but so far my best defence is a length of thick blue water pipe, I've had to crack one particularly aggressive ram on the knees with it which stopped him dead in his tracks. Now I just whack it on my leg (it makes a great sound ;D ) if they are looking 'butty' and they keep their distance :sheep: