Susan Smith Sandoah Achers www.sandoahachers.homestead.com Barbado Sheep (hair breed) Ponies 4-H Projects Public Sales Donkey Rescue and Adoption
From: Outlaw Boers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [blackbelly] Re: Ram losing fear Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 22:50:55 -0700 (PDT)
You watch them out in the pasture, the biggest ram on the block does not wait to be hit before he enforces his position on the others. Every few days, he reminds the rest that he's on top, usually by harassing them or running them. When feed is put out, they do not eat until he decides they can. If he wants the best shady spot, he runs them off of it.
If you want your ram to respect you, you have to react to him in a manner he understands, and be consistant with it. If you put out feed and back away, he thinks that you are backing away from him. If he bows up at you and your reaction is to either ignore it, or back up, he thinks he's got the right to challenge you. You simply cannot wait until he's running at you full bore to decide who's on first.
When I go out with my ram/bucks, I take a coiled up lariat with me. When I feed, I keep moving around the troughs running the males off, just as they would to an inferior male, long enough for them to understand that I decide who eats around here. If any of them show signs of thinking to challenge... one would cock his head and waggle his tail, another would turn sideways and half rear... I head straight for them full tilt and sling that rope out hard to pop them. Once they turn away, I chase them for a bit, slinging that rope out a few more times. This is how they deal with each other, they chase and bite and strike, and they understand this behavior. In the past 4 years, only one has offered to continue the argument after that point, and he quickly found himself snubbed to a post for the next 30 minutes while I stood there and did humiliating things like bathe him and check his teeth. That was the last time he ever offered to challenge me. He will walk up to me to watch what I'm doing, and if I reach out to catch him he doesn't resist, but he gets out of my space as soon as I make a threatening move in his direction, and that's how I like 'em.
I'm not claiming my method is the best out there, but it has worked well for me. I don't flip them because that's not a behavior they use themselves... that's a canine response. Not to mention, some of my bucks are pushing 300 pounds and I highly doubt I'll win a flipping match with any of them. ;)
Krista
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