[Stanlamb]

We bought our Suffolk ram two years ago, as a lamb.  He has become increasingly aggressive.  Now runs at you with head down when you go in the field - it's hard to know what his inientions are so we're all wary of him and the children aren't allowed near him.  Feeding is a nightmare ... a race to get in and out as quickly as possible.  At he moment he's out with a bunch of ram lambs but I am perplexed as to what to do when they're sold. 

Are all rams this aggressive?  I certainly haven't been aware of it with our previous rams but wasn't as involved then.  Is it a Suffolk thing?

Am contemplating selling him.  He's 2, purebred and bought at a Suffolk Society sale but I didn't get papers - maybe you don't which seems strange.  Is he worth anything?  Also, have no idea what I would replace him with.  Ewes are a mix of Dorsets (old stock so dwindling in number), mules (bought to x with the Suffolk, brilliant lambers and great Mums, intelligent to!) and a few Suffolk.

Any opinions please?

Thanks

[Tim W]

Life's too short---get rid of him if he is causing problems

In future it may help not to bucket feed/get too friendly with rams?

[Daisys Mum]

I had one like that, he hadn't been bucket fed, we found his offspring to have the same nature. Needless to say he and his offspring became kebabs!

[landroverroy]

My first thought is - get rid!
Once a ram developes the habit of going for you, it will always do it, and no matter how wary you are of it, there will come be a time when you are distracted and he will get you. A farmer near me was killed by a Suffolk ram some years ago.
All rams are not aggressive to that extent, but you have to be aware that any male animal always has the potential to turn on you unexpectedly, so should always be treated with respect.
What you do with him is up to you. I personally wouldn't sell on an  unpredictable male for breeding as in a way you would feel responsible if someone gets hurt. I'm sure he would taste very nice!
As for a replacement - again it's what you like. I personally like Suffolks and am getting another this year myself. But I buy direct from the breeder, so can get a better idea of temperament than you do in a market.They are not all nasty - you can get the problem with  any breed.
But better luck with your next one.

[shygirl]

i would get shot of him. i got butted by a ram so hard im suprised he didnt break my leg. he sounds really dangerous and accidents happen so quickly.
i would send him to a mart with a meat price reserve, or put him in freezer. our dogs ate our old rams.

[kanisha]

and you want to keep him because???

[NLL]

move him on, we had one go like this so we called in our friend who is a sheep farmer by profession.He took one look and said we didn't need that and took him away for us.Our tups now are all friendly,we wouldn't tolerate one who isn't these days.They are too dangerous to mess with.

[SteveHants]

If you feed em they can become insistent - I always make sure that rams are scared of me as a matter of course.

[roddycm]

A great friend of mine, a commercial sheep farmer, always said that if she had a mean ram like yours her solution was to ride him haha I saw her do it she'd jump on its back and gallop it round the field haha! It worked for her but I'd not recommend it for everyone! She is very agile and trains horses so she has the skills needed!
I would suggest getting rid of him and starting again with a new ram... Unless you fancy your chances as a rodeo cowboy!

[JulieWall]

Yep, sounds like it's time to get rid of him. Suffolks can be snotty, as Stevehants said, he needs to be a bit afraid of you.
My tup is starting to throw his weight around a bit so this will be his last year I'm afraid.  He was fine for the first four years but this past year he has started to get a bit coarse. When He comes near me the first thing I do is turn his head away and give him a push away from me. Never take your eye off a tup anyway however nice he is.

[Herdygirl]

My 3 are friendly enough but one can be a bit pushy now and again, so he gets a sharp tap on his nose with my stick, he knows to behave then.  You have been given good advice to get rid of him and i would make it the one way trip and then serve with roasties and veg.

[shygirl]

When He comes near me the first thing I do is turn his head away and give him a push away from me.

in my experience they are going at a fair speed when injuries happen. my son was helping catch a ram which was in a 4m x 2m pen. the speed / power the ram got to in 4 metres was astonishing, and my son took the full force as he couldnt step back cos of the fence. luckily he was unbroken but it was harsh. this particular ram wouldnt have done this in the field tho as he was shy. our tame ram was the worst as he had no respect for humans and would come running head down from a fair distance.

[jaykay]

Move him on. He sounds like he needs to be in a big flock, with other tups about. And don't get too friendly with a replacement, it's sad because they often are friendly, but then they can become pushy or over-familiar.

The photos show what one of my tups managed to do to me! No permanent damage fortunately, but hey, who needs it.

[JulieWall]

When He comes near me the first thing I do is turn his head away and give him a push away from me.

in my experience they are going at a fair speed when injuries happen. my son was helping catch a ram which was in a 4m x 2m pen. the speed / power the ram got to in 4 metres was astonishing, and my son took the full force as he couldnt step back cos of the fence. luckily he was unbroken but it was harsh. this particular ram wouldnt have done this in the field tho as he was shy. our tame ram was the worst as he had no respect for humans and would come running head down from a fair distance.

I guess I should have said I don't get rams in on their own anyway, it's always been a policy of mine to keep several meat wethers in between me and the tup in the field shelter. The easiest way to take hold of him is when he is blocked in the corner by other sheep. The minute that head goes down and he takes a step back you need to know.

[Fleecewife]

I think it would be unfair to pass him on to another smallholder, although a larger enterprise with several tups and lots of experience would manage better.  Here, any tup which shows aggression goes for the chop pronto.  Neither my OH nor I can afford to be injured - few sheep keepers can.
 
One possibility for the future, would be to get a ram lamb, use him for a single season, then send him off for meat.  That leaves you with no tup to manage for the other 11 months of the year.  You can either buy in another tup lamb the following year and slaughter him after tupping, or divide your ewes into two unrelated groups and use two of your that-season's lambs, one on each group, before they go into the freezer too.  That's if you are breeding for meat - if you are raising pedigree breeding stock then of course you will be paying real money for your tup, so too valuable to use and kill.
 
Jaykay - you had a lucky escape there      An amazing number of people are injured and killed by sheep each year apparently - they look so soft and fluffy