Author Topic: Dominant Ram Problem.... (Read 1371 times)

JIMMYD · « **on:** May 20, 2020, 03:56:08 pm »

Hi all.

I have ended up with a ram, and he now thinks he runs the show. He was a hand reared orphan, and prior to going to slaughter ended up with flystrike (The only lamb to get it....), and was kept back. Feeling sorry for him I hung onto him, and then he became part of the surroundings ... I am sure you have heard it all before. He was castrated, and most of the time runs with our small flock, but during the lambing season he is a nuisance and has to be kept apart with a few of the barren ewes.

Anyway he is now 2 years old, and has become dominant . I can handle him , and he is not really a problem, you just have to keep your eyes open - however my Dad is quite elderly and the rams now a problem. He butts , and might knock my dad down.

Can his behaviour be changed, or is it a lost cause? I know the easiest solution is to cull him, but most of the time he is fine running with the other sheep, and I am getting soft in my old age ......

Fleecewife · « **Reply #1 on:** May 20, 2020, 05:10:33 pm »

You know the answer - he has to be sent off, for the sake of your father if nothing else (falls and fractures in older people can end up in disability and death, so it is serious). At 2 yo he will continue to get worse and become a real danger. Just see it as having been his intended destiny anyway, and hasn't he had a lovely temporary reprieve.

shep53 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 20, 2020, 05:42:35 pm »

As Fleecewife says cull him either through market or get him to abattoir and eat him , he will only get stronger and more aggressive

Buttermilk · « **Reply #3 on:** May 20, 2020, 07:38:29 pm »

Cull. The sooner the better.

bj_cardiff · « **Reply #4 on:** May 20, 2020, 07:52:09 pm »

If you have the slightest concern for peoples safety you really should cull. Hand reared animals are the worst for being aggressive, they have no respect/fear of humans which is cute when they are small, not so cute as adults..

twizzel · « **Reply #5 on:** May 20, 2020, 08:46:49 pm »

Get him gone, before he hurts someone. I have a good ram going on exactly the same 1 way trip this summer. Not worth the risk.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #6 on:** May 20, 2020, 09:24:42 pm »

Quote from: Fleecewife on May 20, 2020, 05:10:33 pm

You know the answer - he has to be sent off, for the sake of your father if nothing else (falls and fractures in older people can end up in disability and death, so it is serious). At 2 yo he will continue to get worse and become a real danger. Just see it as having been his intended destiny anyway, and hasn't he had a lovely temporary reprieve.

We're all saying the same and Fleecewife put it beautifully. He's had a lovely extension to his life, but he won't improve and you will regret it (and so much more than you will regret sending him off) if he does hurt someone.

And the "falls can be fatal" in the elderly thing isn't a myth. All sorts of bizarre knock-on effects can and do occur, can cause very serious complications and sometimes death. I have two people close to me to whom this has happened. Take the risk very seriously.