[Daisys Mum]

I had rounded my Shetlands up and was just about to shut the stable door on them when the daughter of my Ill natured ram took a flying jump and caught me right in the middle of the chest, couldn't think what had happened at first or why I was lying on the ground, but she had definitely inherited her fathers nature.

[Stanlamb]

Thank you all - it's unanimous then, he's going!  Jaykay - very nasty, that must have hurt a lot.  What did you do with him?

Now, my next question is what to replace him with - the suggestion of using a ram lamb for tupping and then slaughtering is worth considering.  I will start a new thread about hos replacement because we've been doing a lot of thinking over the lat 24 hours   

[jaykay]

I sold him to one of the big Rough Fell farmers around here. He was a very good tup, too good to eat, and I thought that he would probably be fine with a lot of other tups, out on the fell, being handled by very experienced farmers. He was just a pain in close quarters on a regular basis.

What a relief, the difference it made, having tups that I wasn't scared of, that I can walk through their field, feed them without worrying! I am still aware of where they are and what they're doing all the time, they're tups still when all's said and done, but they're not aggressive with me.

[Stanlamb]

That would be a nice feeling Jaykay - I'm so wary of going into the field with him.  Ours is a super ram and I'm thinking too good for the abattoir but perhaps someone with much more experience than me would be able to handle him.  I have a man I intend to ask who will know if there's anyone who might be happy to take him on.

[SteveHants]

Move him on. He sounds like he needs to be in a big flock, with other tups about.

Big flock? Bullet, more like.

[Fieldfare]

...I also had a ram who became far too feisty- he really tried to 'own me'-  really not pleasant to feel you might have a fight on your hands when entering his paddock (he had big horns!). He will be my first and last adult ram as all have the potential in them...testosterone! He is now in the freezer and is really tasty (Castlemilk Moorit). I will be using 1 ram lamb (maybe 2 as an insurance) and sending to slaughter the following spring- much easier to handle and fewer husbandry issues. With this strategy I don't think there is any point in most people keeping an adult tup.

[SteveHants]

I think there is plenty of point in keeping an adult tup - I want to see improvements to my flock and/or lambs that get away quickly and I do this by buying recorded tups.


I won't tolerate one that is agressive though because its not worth having yourself hospitalised because of one - having said that, mine are all scared of me and I intend to keep it that way.