[FiB]

Hi All, Merlin joined my 14 shearling first timers 2 weeks ago and although 1 stood for him as soon as he entered the field - I've not seen any more action since.  I thought hed be at it all the time - or is once all it takes, or perhaps they havnt come into season yet, or perhaps hes likes his privace and waits till ive gone!!!......  He is just standing around looking bored at the minute!
 
He's with us till Christmas - I guess Nature will do its bit.  Ther're on hay (about a 3rd of a bale a day) and got high energy lick -is there anything else they might be needing (soft music, candles  ?)  As I'm typing this I am realising how rediculous my thoughts are!  But I dont want to have missed anything nutritionally that they might need for conception etc.  They were in good condition going into tupping.    Cant wait for first lambing - just hoping I have some lambs!!!!

[Foobar]

Is he raddled?  How long are you watching him for?  Is he sniffing the girl's wee at all?

He's probably done them all when you weren't watching .  Unless he's raddled or you are watching all the time, you'll never know for sure .   Hmmm..."Ram Cam" ...

[in the hills]

Hi  ,


The act doesn't seem to take very long      ...... not from what I've seen of Soay tups anyway. More likely I think to notice the tup "fussing" around the ewe before he serves her rather than the act itself  ....... following closely, grazing alongside her, sniffing and then doing a really funny pursed lip thing (the children think its  ). I am pretty sure that he will only actually serve them once during that cycle and not repeatedly.


Our tup showed no interest during week one, served during week two and is now only interested in the hay rack.


HTH

[downsized]

He may well have served them. Sam's shearling had his batch all served up in under 90mins , very impressive to watch if a bit disconcerting....sniff jump bang..NEXT!!....sniff jump bang...NEXT!!......

Just a heads up for you all, scanning results so far this year have been apalling due to 3 main factors.

1, The wet weather means ewes are generally in poorer condition at tupping leading to fewer ova being released failure to settle in lamb and high foetal reabsorbtion.

2, The wet weather has meant much higher incidence of fluke resulting in poorer ewe condition and mortality.

3, SBV (schmallenberg) is leading to tup infertility (higher temperature killing off the sperm) and reabsorbed/dead/deformed lambs.

So this years lambing could be a real challenge, and if you do have problems this time round don't blame yourselves, its just shaping up to be a right sod

[Anke]

If the ground is still muddy you can see (sometimes) his "paw"marks on the side of the ewe and if you get close enough her fleece will be a bit roughed up over her tail (not all of them though...) .
If you saw him serving one I would assume that he knows what he is doing and there isn't much else you can do at this stage.
If you have your own tup I would now always either raddle him or if he is a lamb just put the powder (mixed with some oil) on his chest. Messes up the fleeces, but good to know who has been done when if you only have a small flock and are the main (and only) lamber.... getting up at 4am for three weeks in a row can get just a wee bit tiring.
Nutrition wise they should be ok with hay and lick just now.

[FiB]

Thanks you wise ones.  Reasured.
 
I like the idea of ram cam - (I am one of the sados that enjoyed the secret life of cows - OH and son thought it was hilariuously bad telly!)  I kind of wish I had dawbed now, and I think I will get them scanned after christmas if there is one in the area.  Thanks againa all  - I recon he's probably done the bus - there was lots of sniffing going on in first week - but not much jumping (and I missed the pouty lips - something to look forward to next year!!)

[Blacksheep]

Not too late to raddle paste him, you will then see whether there is any more action or whether they have (hopefully) already all been tupped.

[lachlanandmarcus]

I have the same issue with the tup I have borrowed - only 4 out of 16 ewes served (he is raddled and saw him yesterday serve one and the raddle showed up well so it hasnt worn off). Ewes are in good condition they are being fed a little nuts and a bale of hay a day and all look cheery and good condition, he's just not 'doing it' very often.
I am wondering if he is being put off by one of the two wethers in there, he was being a bit of a nuisance when the ram was covering the ewe yesterday, and the ram had to keep chasing him away. When we change the raddle over soon I think I will take out the wethers.
I should add that about 12 of the ewes have lambed before, all got in lamb first time and lambed within a week; however they werent put in lamb last year as I had an operation round lambing time. The other 4 are first timers. The ewes covered to date are 2 ewes and 2 first timer gimmers.
So OP you are not alone in wishing they would get on with it but I cant pretend to have the answer!

[kanisha]

Had a similar problem once with a proven ram sharing with a wether until I took the wether out...

[lachlanandmarcus]

thats really interesting Kanisha - could be whats putting our boy off as he is keen once he gets a chance!
 

[Haylo-peapod]

Hi All, Merlin joined my 14 shearling first timers 2 weeks ago and although 1 stood for him as soon as he entered the field - I've not seen any more action since.

OMG, I have just had to pick myself up the floor as I initially mistook your '1' for an 'I' - oops!   


I've not seen our ram doing the business very much but we have 29 ewes that have the tell-tale raddle mark on their derrieres. I think a lot of the action happens at night or when our backs are turned.


So the fact that he clearly knows what he is supposed to do, he is probably well on the way to covering them all.
I agree with Blacksheep that it's not too late to raddle him - at least you would have a better idea if lambing is going to drag on.

[FiB]

  .

[smee2012]

OMG, I have just had to pick myself up the floor as I initially mistook your '1' for an 'I' - oops!