# Ram head butting people



## speakmanfamily

Our ram has always been a friendly guy. He comes up for cheek scratches and we have always been careful not to scratch the top of his head. 

Tonight we were separating the ewes and lambs so we could ear tag and vaccinate the lambs. (The ram is still with the ewes, as we are in search for a second ram) 
As we were doing so he charged at my sister and pushed her knee the wrong way. 

Once before he rammed me, (for attention i think) and i turned around more on instinct and hit him, and that scared him off and he hadn't done it since. So my sister tried to do that, but he charged again and hit her. He was going back a third time when she got out of the pen.

And then later when i was back in the pen shutting a gate he rammed me from behind. I screamed at him and hit him (again its more of an instinct) and he ran away.

Is there any reason for the sudden change in temperament? is it possible the ewes could be back in heat and that he should be out now? 

How should we deal with him "ramming" people (ironically his name is Ramsley)?


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## bergere

Any Ram that went for people, ended up in the freezer. Life is too short to be hurt by a Ram.

I could catch my Rams to de worm and all that, but I did not pet them at all. 
Would do nothing to remove their respect or fear of people.

Would highly recommend, making him into a nice BBQ or even sausage.


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## Ross

Rams are not pets ever. A very few will be OK with attention but too many (most) need to be kept aloof just to be manageable


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## trainv

Ramsley is gone in my flock


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## cowbelle

Never, ever, trust an intact male animal! If you must keep this ram, get one of the "masks" for him which keeps him from being able to see directly ahead of him. It can help, but an hotshot in hand (used on the nose where there's not too much wool) also will deter him. Premier sheep supplies has the masks. They also help keep rams/bucks from beating each other up.


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## ShadowfaxFarm

there is one chance and one chance only of reforming your ram but even if he reforms I would NEVER again work lambs & ewes without him tied up somewhere. Hitting him back will only be seen as aggression & at some point he will think that he can hit harder and consider you hitting him an additional challenge (like he did with your sister). When he tries to hit you again side step him and grab under his jaw. Push his head up and backward as fast and hard as you can. This will either flip him over or set him on his butt from which position you can force him down. Hold him down until he stops struggling. I fear it is probably to late for him but this is one way to give him a chance. I have had tolerably tame rams that never tried to hit me but I've also had young rams try to hit me once and if I set them on their butt or flip them they don't ever try it again. When an older ram (2 or older) tried to hit odds are pretty good they will not quit being mean. if they try to hit after being put on their butt twice they are sent to the stockyard with a warning that they are mean.


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## KimTN

I had a pet ram that just turned mean out-of-the blue. He went to the butcher the very next day. I work with my animals every day and treat them too well to be injured by an animal that decides to be mean.


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## farmerestes

I just read in this months sheep! magazine about this very issue. The editor said the options were limited- put a blind on him (so you have to watch him all the time so he doesn't get hung up, brake (not break!) his leg so he can't get a running start, keep hitting him and live in fear, butcher him. I can't find a link to the actual advice, but I think this is a fair summery.


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## speakmanfamily

i just don't understand why he suddenly changed. That morning he was friendly.

Normally he would stay laying down and every so often come to get a pet. 

@shadowfaxfarm I figured hitting him would be seen as more aggression, but in the spur of the moment when you don't know what to do its scary.


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## primal1

When we got our ram we were told the worst thing you can do is treat him like a pet, rams are to be ignored, no petting or attention. He was great for about 4 years but then every once and a while he'd charge us.


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## nobrabbit

I've read where people have written about how friendly their rams are but all of ours have been aggressive. And like yours, one day they turned from friendly as a pet dog to wanting to kill us. 

We've been bounced off the shed walls, knocked down, bit, you name it; and I've fended them off with shoes, buckets and whatever else was handy. The only things ours have respected is our Border Collie and a hotshot. But because we have a small flock and breed naturally the ram is in full-time with the ewes and it is a pain having to deal with it. We usually keep one a couple of years or so. Like most other folks here as soon as they turn on us, they've got to go and are sold to a local meat processor. 

DH feeds a group of 10+ bulls 2x's a day that haven't given him anywhere near the trouble that our rams have.


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## fordy

speakmanfamily said:


> Our ram has always been a friendly guy. He comes up for cheek scratches and we have always been careful not to scratch the top of his head.
> 
> Tonight we were separating the ewes and lambs so we could ear tag and vaccinate the lambs. (The ram is still with the ewes, as we are in search for a second ram)
> As we were doing so he charged at my sister and pushed her knee the wrong way.
> 
> Once before he rammed me, (for attention i think) and i turned around more on instinct and hit him, and that scared him off and he hadn't done it since. So my sister tried to do that, but he charged again and hit her. He was going back a third time when she got out of the pen.
> 
> And then later when i was back in the pen shutting a gate he rammed me from behind. I screamed at him and hit him (again its more of an instinct) and he ran away.
> 
> Is there any reason for the sudden change in temperament? is it possible the ewes could be back in heat and that he should be out now?
> 
> How should we deal with him "ramming" people (ironically his name is Ramsley)?


.................Find a shock dog collar and attach to his nads , everytime he even looks like he wants to bang somebody , just "lightum up" and he will wonder who bit him ! , lol , fordy:dance:


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## Hexe

speakmanfamily said:


> i just don't understand why he suddenly changed. That morning he was friendly .QUOTE]
> 
> 
> Beware of ANY intact male, breeding animal.
> 
> Rams, Bulls, Stallions, Roosters, - even some dogs fall into this categorie - they cannot be trusted, I don't care how nice and loving they were ten minutes ago, they have different priorities.
> 
> There is a reason why farmers raise wethers, steers, geldings, etc.
> 
> It was good luck that he didn't seriously injure you.


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## Barn Yarns

on our place the rule is 'be nice or be tastey' =) 

Hexe... you forgot about some of the 2 legged intact breeding animals.... many of them will destroy you =(


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## PNP Katahdins

If he were mine, he'd have a reservation at freezer camp next week, if not sooner. Our rams stay away. I never pet them or feed out of my hand. They respect the Border collies.

Stay safe. Take your sister out to dinner or something as an apology. You owe her some meat from that ram, too. She'll love it.

Peg


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## J.T.M.

This is not the best video but you can see how dangerous rams can be .Whats hard to see is the nails ( over 20 total ) popping out when he hits the cattle panel . When I built the ram pen , the two post - hard to see - were to be only temp. until I could build a better gate - Thank God I used them because thats what stopped him .He locked eyes with me and charged . I have no doubt he was coming for me .He went on to mangle that cattle panal beyond usage . Please people ... even if you consider them pets be careful.
http://s824.photobucket.com/user/Jeffcoke/media/023_zps3db76b10.mp4.html


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## primal1

forgot that J.T.M., we were also advised not even to make eye contact


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## J.T.M.

primal1 said:


> forgot that J.T.M., we were also advised not even to make eye contact


I had to go tackle him last week to trim his hoofs Uggggggggggggggggg Im getting to old for this


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## primal1

Thankfully we had rocky land so we never had to trim hoofs! I don't envy you that job lol


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## speakmanfamily

PNP Katahdins said:


> If he were mine, he'd have a reservation at freezer camp next week, if not sooner. Our rams stay away. I never pet them or feed out of my hand. They respect the Border collies.
> 
> Stay safe. Take your sister out to dinner or something as an apology. You owe her some meat from that ram, too. She'll love it.
> 
> Peg


actually i don't owe my sister anything, he's not my ram either, He's my dads. 
I'm fifteen and technicality most of the livestock are my fathers. But i like to think of them as mine


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## speakmanfamily

*technically


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## CountryWannabe

speakmanfamily said:


> And then later when i was back in the pen shutting a gate he rammed me from behind. I screamed at him and hit him (again its more of an instinct) and he ran away.
> 
> How should we deal with him "ramming" people (ironically his name is Ramsley)?


 
Around here he would be re-christened "Curry". I will not tolerate any animal that doesn't keep a respectful distance. 
.
.
Mary


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## macly

Yes it's too bad he's gone from friendly to dangerous, but please don't hold out hope that he'll return and remain in his friendly state. He WILL ram again and he WILL eventually injure someone. I too made the mistake of keeping our first ram too friendly. We didn't get rid of him when he starting head butting and it just got worse. Same with fellow shepherds. I now let our new ram keep his distance and I keep mine. Get yourself a wether to keep with a new ram and treat him to the scratches and treats. That's what we do. Good luck!


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## Maura

My ram was also a sweetheart, but as he got older he got bolder until I wouldn't go into the pasture without the dog because I just never knew how SanTiego was going to act.

What appears to be sudden aggression is more probably the ram trying to deal with change. Here he is, all settled with his ladies, and you and some strangers come in and start messing with them. He was protecting his herd from a perceived threat. Next time, think ahead, and bribe the ram out of the herd. You can keep him adjacent to them if that is how your set up is, or put him into a stall.


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## Hexe

Barn Yarns said:


> on our place the rule is 'be nice or be tastey' =)
> 
> Hexe... you forgot about some of the 2 legged intact breeding animals.... many of them will destroy you =(


 
I LOVE the "be nice or be tasty" rule! Will have to implement that on our place as well. Thanks for the wording!

And two-legged intact males - yes, I am aware but did not want to insult any of the other, presently reading intact males.


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## cowbelle

Please, please, take note of the advice here! The ram should not be trusted for a second. My daughter was raising colored sheep for the hand spinning market a few years back, bought a "brown" ram (can't think of the proper name for the color) who had been shown, so not respectful of people. He began to not just protect his girls, he would hunt people down. He learned to open his gate, she chained it, but after watching him work at it diligently, she sent him to the sale. She had young children, and he was going to hurt someone. He respected my Kelpie dogs, but they weren't always there. It's a common trait for the males of almost any species, not something you did wrong. He won't change!


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## speakmanfamily

I've let my dad know all of this, He's mulling it over.


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## cvk

Brown is referred to as "morrit". I had 3 Coridale rams over the years and they all tried to kill me. My suffolk tried to kill me and the Doset threatened. My Montadales never bothered me and now I have had Icelandic sheep for many years and have never had an aggressive ram. Even the tame ones aren't aggressive. Some rules do apply though--I never turn my back and trust them and I never corner them when the ladies are in love mode. Some rams will protect new born lambs also. My rams are not the least afraid of me but they are not interested in my company either. The feral breeds don't seem to be as aggressive ans the domestic breeds. Everyone that ever owned a Corridale ram ended up getting rid of it. They turn mean at about one year of age.


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## ErikaMay

I'm starting to deal with the same thing....But hes become aggressive to the pigs with whom he, just a month ago, was buddies with. Its giving him a power trip, i think, to upset the pigs. I got a mask on him yesterday and its not helping. I might install some small studs in the inside of his mask so when he rams he pokes it head. 


my neighbours help me out sometimes and they had gotten friendly with the ram...I said "please don't and they stopped," but.....he started seeing humans as less and less scary. Two days ago he was behind me and *very* lightly bonked me to test the waters...I went ballistic on him and he is keeping quite a distance between us now. I was hoping for at least one more breeding season out of him, but I may have to wether him or kill him soon. 

My biggest problem is that I don't have my permanent fences up yet so the animals all mingle. I can't keep him alone, but clearly I can't keep him with the other animals either. Trying to get him an companion animal. (His dad did well with the llama...all his male feelings were focus on trying to bang her so he didn't pay attention to us humans)


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## hastyreply

Does anyone keep their ram with wethers? I don't often keep rams though I'm considering getting one to get some outcrossing. My sheep and rams have come from the same ranch so they are getting about criss crossed back and forth. I've always kept my rams with a couple of big ol wethers. I start them as lambs with the wethers. I don't know if it's the breed ( one was a Katadin/dorper/st Croix and the other was dorper/st croix). I didn't have any particular problems with them. Maybe it's the breed or getting knocked around by a big ol wether.


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## ErikaMay

I think thats part of the problem for my little guy: last year he was at the bottom of the pecking order, this year there arn't any other rams around and hes got no one to put him in his place.


well, other than me


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## ErikaMay

Also, mine started out head butting around the feeder. He got rewarded (more food) when he head butted at feeding time, so why not any other time? ill hopefully have things set up better soon so ram(s) can eat alone.


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## CountryWannabe

hastyreply said:


> Maybe it's the breed or getting knocked around by a big ol wether.


I have Katahdin and Katahdin mixes. I have only had one ram that was aggressive. He was in the fridge cooling off within a couple of hours of that incident. My rams stay in with the flock full time. I think that overall this is a more tolerant breed. Or maybe just more sensible, who knows? I do know several people with Kats and they seem to have a lot less trouble with temperament than those with woolies.

Mary


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## ShadowfaxFarm

speakmanfamily said:


> actually i don't owe my sister anything, he's not my ram either, He's my dads.
> I'm fifteen and technicality most of the livestock are my fathers. But i like to think of them as mine


When I was just about your age (probably 14) my family had a dorset ram that had been a show ram prior to us getting him. We had never had a mean dorset. He was a big pet & we knew not to pet his head. I was the primary sheep caretaker. I was scratching his neck one day, then petting some of the ewes. He got jealous and came at me (at my front which is more rare they usually hit people from the side or back) I tried to side step him out the barndoor but he was to close and caught me right on the edge of the barn door. Hurt my back and bruised my tailbone. My tailbone took years to ever stop hurting completely and I've had to see I chiropractor for my back since I was 16. My back problems are not solely due to him but he added to it. I don't know if you're a girl or a guy but be VERY careful around that ram!! You do not want permanent damage. I don't remember what the fate of that particular ram was but I don't think he stayed on our farm.


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## notasnowballs

I am not an expert sheep person by any means, but had this same issue and came here and got the same advice. These people are smart. LOL I had two rams here, and now I have a ram lamb here. 

The first ram I had was a Jacob jam with curled horns, smaller, was given to me from Craigslist for free because he headbutts. That he did... on the horse trailer, the fence, humans... shaking his head, fighting. He was nastier around the ladies because he wanted to be with them and not be lead by a rope. I dumped several buckets of water over his head when he came after me and he started to respect me, but I NEVER trusted him. Even after the water, when he was around the ladies, when I would have to move him or work with him, he would still give me a bunch of lip, tipping his horns at me, raking one into mine or my daughter's leg while walking by our side. Thank God he was only knee high. Another thing I did on one of those occassions (also worked for a billy goat that thought I was sexy. Another story...) was flip him to the ground by his horns and SIT ON HIM until he stopped bawling and squirming and submitted. He was VERY indignant, but behaved. It was constant reminders of who is the boss in the barn- me. He went away because I wanted the pleasure of working with my ewes without watching my back. His wool was AWESOME though. Sigh...

Second ram only visited for a month, strictly to service my ewes. He was a three year old very LARGE Columbia ram that was used for 4-H. He was a nice boy with a halter on. Not so nice without the halter. He still gave me a little balarney, even with the halter. Mating season, that testosterone, ladies around... He could have been VERY dangerous, because he was definitely big enough to knock me over. No horns. I needed my husband to handle him toward the end of the month, as he got nastier. He did nail me in the kidneys once. THAT HURT. So he went back home, but later his owners told me that he got to be head butting everything and everyone all of the sudden, got full of himself or something. He went away. 

Now my ram lamb is his son, two months old. He hasn't been handled but very minimally. He's not a big fan of people and I like it that way. It's hard not to pet the cute little lamb, or make him into a more manageable, friendly animal. He won't stay past this year. I need him to service my one ewe, then he goes. 

As far as I'm concerned, ram lambs are a pain in the rear. Literally.


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## grandma12703

I grew up on a sheep/cattle ranch. My stepfather raised show stock. Very expensive rams were a part of the equation. To him it didn't matter whether they were mean or not. I remember as a kid hating them (the rams). Several would hit the fence if you were on the other side. They just wanted to get to you. I remember when we were kids getting the brainy idea to jump from a large roll of wire in the pig pen over to a stock crate in the rams pen. Well we succeeded. Problem was we never anticipated the ram hitting the crate trying to knock it over or us off. I think I was maybe 7 years old and mom and SF were gone. I know once if my sb would not have jumped to the other side we would have been over and then who knows what would have happened. 

I now raise sheep and some club lambs but I will not keep an aggressive ram. The way I look at it with no more sheep than I have we need to replace the ram every few years anyway so that we don't get too close of breeding. It's not worth taking a chance of someone getting hurt.


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## ErikaMay

One of my ram lambs cam out of mom friendly as could be. I try to keep my interactions with him limited, but this morning when he spotted me at the gate he came running up to me. I want his genetics, but by golly is he going to be a pain in the rear when he grows up. I'm trying to figure out how to get him to fear me without making him feel aggressive. maybe i just need to give him more vaccines....Oh, and his nails grow super fast so I'm going to have to trim his toesies every two months. 

if only he could stay a friend little guy without having to loose his balls....


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## CountryWannabe

Not sure this will help anyone - but I did find that a Super-Soaker did a good job of discouraging younger rams.

Mary


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## hastyreply

I have sheep to work and train my dogs. I've found my sheep including my rams are very respectful of the dogs and the transfers to me. I wonder if the others who use border collies has found the same thing.


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## Maura

I used my border collie the same way. As long as Hamish was with me, that ram kept a wide berth. However, his ear had a chunk out of it.


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## hastyreply

When they are young I work them with some dog broke wethers and that seems to stick with them. I don't keep,them longer than a couple of years though.


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## sheepish

We have had rams that you couldn't be near without carrying a big stick and keeping an eye on them constantly.

For many years now, good temperament has been part of our breeding requirements. A bad tempered ram passes on those characteristics. They aren't just created by handling. We had one wild ram that threw wild daughters. Fortunately they also had freckled noses and so were easy to spot when we wanted to cull them.

Our rams now can be in the pasture with the ewes for most of the year and we don't have to watch them when we move among the flock. They have never run at us or shown any aggression toward people. However I still would not trust them during breeding season.


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## unregistered168043

It is a Ram's nature to ram things. They don't call them 'nudge's' or 'pokes', they are "rams". I laugh at those suggesting you get rid of a "dangerous ram"...they are all dangerous. The least dangerous ones are the ones that show how mean they are and ram everyone and everything in sight. Witrh them you know where you stand and you are on alert immediately. The more dangerous ones are those who appear docile at times and then attack 'out of the blue'.

Rams will ram you. I knew that going in and I'd never even had experience with them. Our ram was an angle for a while and he almost had me fooled. Now he has shown his true colors and we are actually SAFER around him because we know what to expect.


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## grandma12703

Darntootin said:


> It is a Ram's nature to ram things. They don't call them 'nudge's' or 'pokes', they are "rams". I laugh at those suggesting you get rid of a "dangerous ram"...they are all dangerous. The least dangerous ones are the ones that show how mean they are and ram everyone and everything in sight. Witrh them you know where you stand and you are on alert immediately. The more dangerous ones are those who appear docile at times and then attack 'out of the blue'.
> 
> Rams will ram you. I knew that going in and I'd never even had experience with them. Our ram was an angle for a while and he almost had me fooled. Now he has shown his true colors and we are actually SAFER around him because we know what to expect.


True True! You should always be aware of your ram whether he is aggressive or not.


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## speakmanfamily

Call us stupid, but we're holding onto Ramsley, for now at least. He hasn't rammed anyone or thing since. He is back to his usual keep away from us, only coming now and then.

We're still not trusting him though! We're always keeping an eye on him when we go in there, and not turning our backs to him.


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## DragonFlyFarm

Not stupid speakman. Just know that at some point he will ram you again. I keep a big stick at the gate to the sheep area. When I go in, I bring the stick. I was petting one of my ewes one day and my ram didn't like it. He tried to push her away, and when that didn't work he backed up and charged me. I hit him as hard as I could across the side of his face. Scared the s**t out of me. The neighbors must think I'm nuts, I was out in my field screaming very foul words at Dido while he's shaking his head trying to figure out what hit him. Make sure you have something to protect yourself with. Good Luck!


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## speakmanfamily

Thanks!


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## ArmyDoc

Animals aren't people. Male animals of most species fight for dominance, in order to have the priviledge of breeding. In herd animals they are also responbile for protecting the rest of the herd. They will attack you to establish their dominance. They are more prone to attacking women, possibly because women tend to be smaller and they think they can get away with it, but I have also heard that they are more prone to attack women when they are in rut, and even when the women are on their cycle, so it may be hormonal.

Bottom line, don't ever lose the dominant position. Dominant animals don't groom other animals. All of them should have a healthy respect for you. Anyone that doesn't, needs a lesson, and if they don't learn the lesson on the first try, they need a one way ticket to freezer camp.

Aggression is also heritable, and can be bred out to a degree. For that reason, I wouldn't want the offspring of a ram known to be aggressive.


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## StockDogLovr

I swapped rams with a guy who had a registered Kat ram, beautiful, but they had trained him to walk on leash with a dog collar and when he came into my flock he was about a year old or so. Well, thanks to this personal handling (and they had gotten him as a young ram lamb), he got more and more obnoxious until finally he was trying to take people down. I told the owner I wanted to swap back! My kat ram was ugly but fearful!

I only ever used my sheep for herding practice, so never got palsy with any of the lambs, and as a result they were wild popcorn lambs! One of them became a breeding ram, and though he has never given me any grief, I watch him like a hawk. He has developed a weird behavior with my horse where he runs up to the horse as if he is going to butt him, but at the last second he raises his head high, and the horse starts licking him! I have video of my horse licking the top of the ram's head, and all along his back. The horse will bite him occasionally, and will strike at him if the ram gets too pushy. Essentially, though, the ram has trained my horse to "pet him." Yesterday, when I was haltering my horse, the ram got very obnoxious and acted like he was going to butt him, so I'm probably going to sell the ram. Hate to because I otherwise like him, but I've used him enough as it is.

Intact male bottle babies of any hoofed species will end up trying to kill humans. There was even an episode of Nature where a guy raised a clutch of wild turkeys himself. They all took off once grown, but then a male returned and ended up attacking the guy badly! Perceived him as a challenger or something.


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## manolito

There is only one way to deal with a ram that even comes close to people as a threat and that is to put him in the freezer or jerkey him. 

I have known many who try the board in front of the legs and squirt bottles etc. and several have suffered broken bones and damaged knees. 

Never scratch or play with rams they need to fear you as a predator always walking away from you as you approach.

Rams are very dangerous!!

If you have watched two rams fight you will know you are not going to hit them even with a 2x4 and hurt them or teach them anything.


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## grandma12703

Rams are rams, bulls are bulls, boars are boars, stallions are stallions, roosters are roosters and on and on. They are the dominant and protective of their species. I hate to see people continue with the horror stories. If you raise livestock of any species you should know before you begin that you must respect the particular species you are raising. Learn about them and remember that they are animals. Males are protective and dominant, although we do not want them to be aggressive we also do want them to do their job as protectors of their herds. Some females become aggressive when they have babies and we would not want them not to protect their young. Do not make them pets and always respect the fact that they may feel that you are a threat at any time. Usually, but not always the respect will go both ways and they will pay very little attention to you as long as you let them stay with their herds. If they find it necessary to be aggressive when you pose not threat to them in anyway it may be time to put them in the freezer as others have said.


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## taubea

I made the mistake of playing "bumpy" with my ram lamb, never thinking this cute game would come back to haunt me. Then one day he knocked me down and I just happened to have a hose in my hand-just as he was coming at me again I sprayed him right between the eyes-stops them dead in their tracks-they HATE that! So I enticed him to come and ram me a few times while I was by the hose and sprayed him each time he started to come, and it about cured him.
I walked around with a spray bottle for a while, and I would imagine if your ram is real bad you might have to resort to a hard core water gun-but I think that will work.
I ended up putting him down in a field for the summer with his father who is a very good natured ram. I never had a problem with him again. Sending a sheep to the butcher is never an option to me-I keep all my animals as pets, and I just figure out a way to get around the testosterone. If I can't, then time to get neutered...


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## wendle

I've only had three rams in all the years I've had sheep that were bad like that. There are plenty of rams that are decent to be around. It would also be good to warn any prospective ram lamb buyers that their sire has a bad attitude. Better yet, snip and ship them.


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## grandma12703

I carry a spray bottle and don't hesitate to use it. They hate being sprayed and when they get to close it is what they get. I usually don't mess with them much unless my DH is with me but a few weeks ago one of them was sick. The other is the one I don't trust at all. I was able to halter over the gate and tie the sick one up and then feed the other. It kept him busy while I doctored the second. Worked pretty well. My DH was impressed. LOL The only time the ornery one really butted was when my DH took to long to dump the feed. These guys are pretty expensive club lamb sires and freezer camp would be a hard choice to make but if they got to aggressive it is what would happen. They are way to large to take a chance. We treat them almost like we would the bulls.


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## manolito

Grandma
Just wanted to remind you of the snake taken in from the snow storm. fed watered and warmed by the fire. The farmer picked him up and he bit the farmer. When asked why the farmer was told you knew I was a snake when you picked me up. 

Don't get hurt please.


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## mustangglp

Nice looking ram is that one of yours?


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## manolito

Yes that is one of three of my herd rams for the current time. They will be rotated out one each year over three years.


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## grandma12703

manolito said:


> Grandma
> Just wanted to remind you of the snake taken in from the snow storm. fed watered and warmed by the fire. The farmer picked him up and he bit the farmer. When asked why the farmer was told you knew I was a snake when you picked me up.
> 
> Don't get hurt please.


 
Thanks for the concern. I am pretty careful and have raised sheep in some aspect all of my life. We always had a few rams that were more aggressive than others growing up so I learned to be very alert. I always make sure I have a back up plan for getting out of their way. It is the same way we do with the cattle when working days come around.


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## hastyreply

I have 3 rams. A 2.5 yr old St Croix who sees a person and heads the opposite direction. He doesn't want anything to do with us. A 1.5 yr old Dorper/Barb cross. He is skittish of me but very interested in food. Not to the point of crowding but will move that way. A 7month old Royal White/St Croix/Dorper (I know the same thing, but dad was mixed lamb who jumped RW ewe). He came to me overly friendly. His mama is a pet and he and his sister were born 6 weeks before any other lambs where he was. So he is overly familiar with people especially if you have food. So I've made it a mission to teach him to move away from me. I've had some good success but he's still young and immature and the jury is still out but will breed him this fall. 

I've had a chance lately to walk through them when they are down in the pasture. They will be sleeping in the shade when I walk by. I started just straighten up and pushing my shoulders back and mentally pushing energy towards them. All three get up and move away from me. I don't do anything else but mentally and physically make myself big as I approach them. It's been an interesting experiment. The St Croix is usually the first to respond. He's very sensitive to pressure and I am basically pushing pressure at them.


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## crittermomma

I never EVER trust my rams - they are there for one reason only - to protect their herd and procreate. If i need to get in with my girls while the ram is in there - I separate the ram out of the herd - do what I need to do and put him back in. To give him shots or deworm, I put him in between 2 sturdy gates - give the shot / deworm - let him back out. They are not pets like the girls are. I am not going to kill a good ram for doing his job.


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## bobp

See the recipe forum!

Seriously. I fed hounds for years. I always had a good TriTronics electronic trainer. I used it on my mules even when I had them. I put a stop to fence pushing and cribbing, as well as other bad habits. Didn't have to break a sweat to do do it and its perfectly safe. AND even better they don't connect you to the discomfort. It's a 'hey I don't know what's going on but every time I push over the fence to graze I get a zing' situation. I beleive I'd put one on him and assert your dominance? Or eat him?

Had a neighbor when I was a kid who kept a truck tire on a chain and collered his ram and shackled him to it. Couldn't hit anything very well as the tire would catch up to him


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## Patti Ann

I have six year old wether and ewe that I have raised from birth. All of a sudden she started butted me.
Backing up and coming at me! He got in between us and walked beside me to the barn. Could it be she
is in heat?


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## Bearfootfarm

She may be in heat or it may just be territorial behavior as she's getting older.
A spray bottle of vinegar can help stop that from happening.


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## Patti Ann

Bearfootfarm said:


> She may be in heat or it may just be territorial behavior as she's getting older.
> A spray bottle of vinegar can help stop that from happening.



Thank you for answering,
Just to add she plays with her brother like she was doing me so I just want to make sure or
be assured that she is not being mean. I have written down the 2 dates that she did it to
see if it could be heat.


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## Bearfootfarm

She may see it as "play" but they can cause serious injuries and rams have been known to kill people. It's best to break the habit early.


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## muleskinner2

I raise goats, and always have at least one adult buck around. I prefer an aggressive buck. You always know where you stand with them. I always carry a stock cane, or three foot length of garden hose when I am in the pen.

Most important I enjoy the expressions on the faces of friends or family, when they try to pet the big pretty boy.


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## trainv

they are not playing!!! in my world, they are GONE!!!! 


muleskinner2 said:


> carry a stock cane, or three foot length of garden hose when I am in the pen.


 an aluminum baseball bat works better, doesn't break and really rings their bell!!
I always put a bell on my bucks so I know where they are at when I am near them.


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## Patti Ann

I am not sure if I am doing this right. My ewe Who is 6yrs old and I raised her and my wether from birth, has
All of a sudden started butting me. She does the same thing to my wether. Smacked her but she didn't stop
till my wether got between us. Is she playing or she in heat?


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## Alice In TX/MO

Correct it or live with it and put your child at risk.


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## Patti Ann

Bearfootfarm said:


> She may see it as "play" but they can cause serious injuries and rams have been known to kill people. It's best to break the habit early.


Thank you....I am taking the vinegar bottle with me. She didn't do anything of course except wanted to see what I was carry!


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## Silvercreek Farmer

I've got a big doe goat with horns that I believe helps keep my Katahdin ram in line.


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## Hossplay

speakmanfamily said:


> Our ram has always been a friendly guy. He comes up for cheek scratches and we have always been careful not to scratch the top of his head.
> 
> Tonight we were separating the ewes and lambs so we could ear tag and vaccinate the lambs. (The ram is still with the ewes, as we are in search for a second ram)
> As we were doing so he charged at my sister and pushed her knee the wrong way.
> 
> Once before he rammed me, (for attention i think) and i turned around more on instinct and hit him, and that scared him off and he hadn't done it since. So my sister tried to do that, but he charged again and hit her. He was going back a third time when she got out of the pen.
> 
> And then later when i was back in the pen shutting a gate he rammed me from behind. I screamed at him and hit him (again its more of an instinct) and he ran away.
> 
> Is there any reason for the sudden change in temperament? is it possible the ewes could be back in heat and that he should be out now?
> 
> How should we deal with him "ramming" people (ironically his name is Ramsley)?


Have you ever watched two rams together or even ewes. Head butting is natural to them. My ram got between me and the gate one day and was charging me. he weighs about 280. i had to throw a headlock on him after several nifty ballet movements to get out of the pen. I go in his pen every day to fill his water tub. I just go in after I feed him or throw a little hay. He never pays any attention to me....sheep appetite being what it is. They breed like rabbits and eat like hogs.


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## Hossplay

J.T.M. said:


> I had to go tackle him last week to trim his hoofs Uggggggggggggggggg Im getting to old for this


I was a farrier for 45 years. I would rather trim 10 horses than one sheep. I am going to disperse my sheep before my ram needs trimming again. As someone else said, "I'm getting to old for this."


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## txkronik

A good flat shovel right to the forehead like a bat is what I used if one got nasty. Knock the snot out of him the first time and it will make it stop. Flipping them works but I usually had the shovel already handy.


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## rainbowshades

Whenever our rams got about 5-7 years old, we would start to have trouble with them. I would be fine as along as I had our border collies near me. A couple of times, i forgot and sent the dogs to get the stragglers. I told my guy about the ram hitting me twice-said we have do something about him. Well, - nothing was done until 3 weeks later when he nailed him. - I came home from work and my guy was butchering him. He did make great lamb brats.

Not much else to do unless you can keep a dog near your side when working the sheep.


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