The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Llandovery Lass on November 14, 2014, 05:01:27 pm
-
Finally got my boys together in a small pen ;D they are really going for it. I am hoping they will find out who's boss and can go out together in a couple of days. A texel, new to me this year and a speckled also a yearling and fairly playfull. He had a different texel to spend last year with and I think he's going to be top tup.
How long does it normally take for them not to beat each other to death?
-
We usually pen ours for only a few hours, but the pen needs to be very small so they can't get a run up. This spreads their smell all over each other. If they've got room to take a swing or a run-up at each other then they've got too much room. But you couldn't leave them like that for long as they need to eat, drink and sleep.
Ours always fight a bit when they first go out after the penning, but they usually get bored after a few minutes, especially if we put some food in their trough.
Maybe everyone does this differently, so you can take your pic of replies.
-
We put ours in separate fields - that way we don't have to worry about them or keep checking them.
-
Most of mine live as a bachelor group. They form their own rugby scrum when a ram comes back and mill around in a tight group for a while befoer getting back to their usual hanging out. They have already previously established a heirachy and a single ram won't pick a fight with a group ( unless he' s really stupid or is pretty sure he's top ram)
-
Not sure about the theory of penning them together, hopefully you've let them out before you find the answer to your question. Now is the worst time of year to introduce tups, but they'd be better in a field with some wethers.
Don't underestimate their ability to kill each other - it happens and not rarely!
-
I agree with OS - don't forget their skulls are six times as thick as ours - they're not called "rams" for nothing, and they can pick up a speed of 30 m.p.h. for short distances.
-
I understood that two rams as opposed to three or more was a poor combination as they could fight like boxers with nothing to distract them... like a charge up the rear end from another ram.
-
The penning really really close for a short period of time does make sense and something we will employ in future when we mix new rams. At close quarters they can swing they're heads, but can't pick up any forward speed. Sounds like our local nightclub...
-
Finally they are in the field, a lot of shoving and pushing but no charging at each other, heres to a relatively peaceful winter