# Keeping Ram and Ewes Together Year Round



## Micknleb (Jun 1, 2014)

We have a small herd of white dorpers--four ewes, a ram, and two intact ram lambs about 7 months old. The ewes and ram are about 20 months old. Last year we kept the ram in a separate pen except for a couple of months in the fall when he was with the ewes. When he was alone, he was always fairly aggressive when I fed him, but when he was with the ewes he was much calmer. 

Late last summer, we put him with the five ram lambs that were born in spring, and they were fine together. In October, we put him back in with the ewes, and in late November separated them and put him with the two remaining ram lambs. Now he has gotten aggressive again.

I am thinking we should just keep him with the ewes year round. He seems better mannered when we do. Do any of you do that? Does it work? Are there problems beyond having to have eyes in the back of your head when you are with them? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 3, 2013)

Dorpers can and do breed out of season which means that if you leave the ram in all the time, you won't be able to control when your ewes are bred or re-bred. 

Another issue is one you've already brought up, his aggression. If you are planning on spending any amount of time in the pen with your ewes, he could potentially make things more difficult and dangerous.


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## rosalind (Oct 6, 2014)

I wouldn't keep the ram in year-round, just because I like to go in with my ewes and hang out (I have wool sheep, so like to monitor growth, etc.).


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## Maxpowers (Apr 4, 2012)

It looks like he's only getting aggressive when he's alone? So can you go in with the sheep when they're all together? Possible to get him a buddy to live with away from the ewes?

Downside to him being in there year round is not knowing who's pregnant and when. Do you mind having lambs in February? I also like my ewes to get some rest between pregnancies and build their fat levels back up. That would be difficult with him in there all the time.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Castrate one of his ram offspring and use him as his buddy when he is separated. 

Keeping the ram with the ewes all the time will make knowing when lambs are born impossible and you won't be able to feed the ewes properly if and when they need more food. It also makes deworming more tricky, because the ewes could always be bred or leave a tiny window where it would be safe to worm them.

The ram could end up aggressive with the ewes eventually as well. So you'll be back to having an grits of a sheep to deal with.


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## Moboiku (Mar 7, 2014)

I have always kept my ram in with the ewes year-round. They are social creatures and don't do well pastured alone, but I don't have the resources to keep a wether just as a companion. I've never had an issue keeping them together and only get one "crop" of lambs a year. There are many factors that control breeding and whether or not they are seasonal breeders is only one factor. Day length also contributes. Despite my ram being with my ewes (a mix of Dorsets, Romanov, White Dorper and Royal White) year-round, he only breeds them in the fall and I get spring lambs.


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## Micknleb (Jun 1, 2014)

Thank you all for the advice and information. I'm not too worried about breeding year round, at least right now, since all the ewes were bred in October, or so we think. The reason we have sheep is to help keep the pasture down and for meat. We took our first two lambs to be "processed" a couple weeks ago. Right now the ram is with the two remaining ram lambs, and he is much calmer when he's not alone. 

We will likely castrate one of the ram lambs. We had castrated one already, but he died a couple months ago. He seemed fine, but I went out one morning and he was dead. It was a shock--not sure what happened, perhaps some intestinal block.

When the ram is with other sheep, I can comfortably go into the pasture with them, though I keep a close eye on him. I have read that they sometimes get more aggressive as they get older. Is that your experience? He is not quite two right now, so we may have bigger problems later.

At this point, though, we are separating by gender--ewes and does together, bucks together, and rams together, but separate from the bucks. Everybody has a buddy, and it's working for now.


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## Maxpowers (Apr 4, 2012)

If they're already bred I wouldn't worry about it. My rams live with the ewes through most of winter. Only reason I've had to split the rams off is during late pregnancy when the ewes grain portion goes up. The rams will rob from the ewes and eat more then their share. Another thing to look out for is a ram that will try and ram the ewes away from the grain bin.


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