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Boondox
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Reged: 09/11/02
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Posts: 326
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Loc: Northern Vermont
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Ram sent on vacation
02/26/04 12:54 PM
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Charlie, our Icelandic ram, had to go away for a few months. He wouldn't let the pregnant ewes near the food, the water, or the shelter. Kept butting them, along with trees, the shelter, fence posts, the garage, my wife, etc. Left me alone for fear of being Alpha rolled again, but a pretty out of control animal. So he's spending the rest of the winter in Maine, where he'll be castrated to see if it calms him down. If not, guess we'll be having lamb chops in May!
But the amazing thing is how friendly the ewes are now that he's gone! Hand tame, love to be touched and talked to. What a change!
Pete
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RobS
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Gold Member
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Reged: 09/11/02
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Posts: 320
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Loc: SW Michigan
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Re: Ram sent on vacation
[re: Boondox]
02/26/04 02:08 PM
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OK Pete, help out a non-livestock person...
What does the friendliness of a castrated Ram have to do with the serving of lamb chops?
Rob
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Boondox
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Gold Member
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Reged: 09/11/02
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Posts: 326
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Loc: Northern Vermont
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Re: Ram sent on vacation
[re: RobS]
02/27/04 06:19 PM
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Well, he's still a youngster and technically a lamb. So if separating him from his gonads doesn't diminish the aggressiveness, he'll be butchered. Hence, lamb chops.
Those ewes sure are happy he's gone!
Pete
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RobS
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Gold Member
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Reged: 09/11/02
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Posts: 320
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Loc: SW Michigan
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Re: Ram sent on vacation
[re: Boondox]
02/28/04 05:14 AM
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Ah, gotcha Pete. It didn't occur to me that the ram was also the lamb. Is this ram-lamb the one responsible for the pregnancy in the ewes?
Oh, so much to learn. My wife wants goats, now I see why I'm being reluctant
Rob
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Boondox
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Gold Member
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Reged: 09/11/02
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Posts: 326
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Loc: Northern Vermont
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Re: Ram sent on vacation
[re: RobS]
02/28/04 06:18 AM
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In reply to:
Is this ram-lamb the one responsible for the pregnancy in the ewes?
Apparently so, though the ewes were so completely unenamored of his foreplay (kicking them to see if they hold still) that we were both very surprised to see signs of pregnancy! The third ewe, Guiness, was bred to a different ram. Not all rams are aggressive. In fact, there was an old fellow named Dodge in Maine who loved to put his huge head on my lap and have his ears rubbed. That's the sort of ram we want!
Pete
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Bird
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Reged: 09/12/02
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Posts: 1694
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Loc: Corinth, TX, USA
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Re: Ram sent on vacation
[re: Boondox]
02/28/04 07:15 AM
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Pete, we got our first goat, a black nanny, that was raised as a pet; don't think she realized she was a goat. Then we got a (mostly) white billy. He had been raised as a pet, but got too rambunctious for the little boy who had him. And he just drove that black nanny nearly crazy, chasing her all the time. So then I bought 4 more nannies; one had twin kids, and one was already pregnant (all of them nearly starved to death). And there was a definite "pecking order" among them. When I put out feed, the billy would not let any of the others near it until he'd had his fill, then the little black nanny took over and wouldn't let any of the others near the feed until she'd had her fill. So I set up a feeder that always had feed there for them whenever they wanted it. They all got very fat, I spent too much money, and I had to mow the pen they were in because they didn't eat much grass.  Couldn't win for losing. 
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