Rams can be fertile at 4 months. Although Helmut will say breed ewes as young as you can, I don't breed my ewes until they are 7-9 months old. I don't have any data to back my preference other than many wooled sheep breeders believe that a ewe should not have a lamb before she is a year old. Blackbellies don't read the wooled sheep handbook. Helmut indicates that breeding ewes younger results in longer-lived more productive ewes (correct me if I got that wrong, Helmut).
Carol
At 01:30 PM 8/17/2004 -0600, you wrote:
Does anyone have any tricks to taming them? At what age can the little Rams become Daddy Rams? At what age do you breed ewes the first time?
Carol Elkins Critterhaven Estate Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz T-shirts, mugs, caps, and more at the Barbados Blackbelly Online Store http://www.cafepress.com/blackbellysheep
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