[Liz Kershaw]

I thought I'd stopped being a newbie after 3 years but it seems I still have things to learn ... we decided not to tup our 5 adult ewes this year as we've run out of land, I'm going to be fully committed with projects at lambing time, and it proves pretty costly with only a tiny flock as buying in bulk is a problem. So far, so good ... but I didn't reckon on the sheep possibly coming into season without a ram around. Two days ago I was reporting some butting between my 18 month old wether and two of the ewes. Today, he's sniffing around the ewes in a very rammish way, coming alongside them etc, and trying to mount them.

My question is: he was blunt castrated at 8 weeks when it became obvious that he wouldn't be a prize-winning tup, not ringed, so is he likely to still have instincts when faced with a sheep in oestrus even though he can't get them in lamb, or could he perhaps not be as wethered as I thought he was?

Anyone else's wether show interest in ewes in season?

[twizzel]

We castrated a ram lamb this year late (well the vet did), he was approx 12 weeks old in mid June, he still mounted the ewes in the autumn but didn't do the deed. He was a rig though and the 2nd testicle was pretty high up but I saw the vet take both out so no chance he could have done anything. Towards the end he did start to push me around hence he went off a couple of weeks later.

[kanisha]

Yes mine surgically castrated at a year old . I can tell when the ewes start cycling and he will attempt to cover them.

[Marches Farmer]

I suggest having a good poke around to see if he's a rig.  Some ram lambs can be very sneaky about tucking their testicles up.

[Liz Kershaw]

Thanks everyone, for the reassurance,  I'll have a look ... he's normally very sweet natured and has never shown any aggression towards us (not that he is now, either, it's just the fruity look in his eye around the ewes ...) hopefully we won't get any surprises come springtime ...

[SallyintNorth]

I have a wether was burdizzoed late, and he still has some residual testicular material.  He's a grand fellow so I'm just letting him and the other definitely wethers run with the ewes and the definitely tup, and keeping an eye out for any fighting.  So far, he and the other wethers are in one group, and the tup with his ladies in another. 

However, I can take the risk that he tups one of the ladies as he's a good lamb and these girls are for tupping this year, and you are not in that position! 

I asked the vet for his opinion, and we've agreed that he'll come and perform a surgical castration once we're past all risk of flies. 

[Liz Kershaw]

Yours sounds like a good plan Sally ... the wether is back to behaving normally again but the field across the lane has the ram in and my ewes are now in a row baaing plaintively ... the lane is an old one some 15 feet below the level of the fields, so as far as the sheep are concerned there's only a car width between them and the magnificent raddled-up Lleyn beast they can see and hear.