Peggy, It takes a long time. Sheep are naturally quite jumpy, nervous things, especially when you compare them to goats like I have. I don't think mine had been handled before we bought them, and it took probably 4-6+ months of DAILY treats for mine to take food from my hand. Only the ram will come willingly me up to me, and if you just read my last post, that turns out to be a detriment ;(
Previous advice I had gleaned from the list is NOT to raise bottle-feed ram lambs, do not have them as pets in the midst of other sheep, and above all, do NOT touch their heads because it invites them to butt (probably instinct). As a parallel, we had a neighbor once who had a male pygmy goat as a pet. She thought playing "butt-butt" was great fun with her pet. We warned her repeatedly NEVER to encourage a goat to butt. She ended up in the hospital one day when her goat, one assumes, got grumpy. I am only glad I learned my lesson while my ram was being gentle with me. ;/ --Valorie Machin [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> I just have to ask how long has it taken for him to become less fearful? I have just begun to start a herd. At this time I have one adult ewe and a young poled ram. We have had them about six weeks now and I still cannot seem to gain their trust no matter what I try to entice them with. Please answer this as no one seems to answer any of my questions. I think I am doing everything right as far as this list goes but it hard to get involved when no one responds to me. Thanks in advance for any and all advice. --Peggy H. =============================================== This message is from the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep mailing list (http://www.awrittenword.com/listserv/index.html). To respond to this message, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe or change your membership options, go to http://lists.coyotenet.net/mailman/listinfo/blackbelly To search the archives, go to http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
