Most of my ram lambs are trying to 'breed' before they are weaned from their mothers! They get really serious about it (and actually start to figure out what they are doing and who they should be after) at about 3-4 months. I usually don't keep them longer than that, though.
I let my Ram stay with the herd all the time because of space - I don't have enough space to run a separate herd of wethers to stay with him and I don't think any sheep should be kept by themselves, they are a herd animal and need to be with others, in my opinion. I always HOPE for lambs to be BORN in about late Dec. to early January so they will be ready to sell for Easter; the market after Easter is dismal here. If I was able to time it (actually, it usually does work out this way anyway), that is when I would aim for. I'm sure there are plenty of other opinions on this subject . . . Onalee -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mishael Miller Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 2:33 AM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: [blackbelly] Young Ram Hi, Everybody, My tiny herd is doing really well, I can't believe how they blossomed with a little good feed and TLC. I am wondering about my ram, I don't know his exact age probably about 6-7 months old. I am wondering when he will show some interest in the ladies. I am a goat breeder and my buck of same age is coming into rut, do sheep mature slower than goats? Also the breeder I purchased from just let the young ewes run with the ram and get bred when able. Is this the norm? I have seperated him from the 2 ewes, so I can control when they are bred. One of the ewes is a lamb from this spring, the other is aged. I was thinking of breeding the older ewe for April-ish lambs and waiting to breeder the younger until she was a year old- What do you guys do? _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
