Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in the evening, at night, and in the early morning; keep him penned in a cool
place with fresh water during the heat of the afternoon. (High humidity and
temperature can also decrease his sex drive.)
August is generally the beginning of breeding season for January lambing,
though many breeds won't begin until September. You can wait until later to
turn in the ram with the ewes if you want to start lambing later in the spring.
The gestation period is 5 months (148-152 days), so count back from your
desired lambing date to determine the best date to introduce the ram.
Ewes are in heat for about 28 hours, with 16 or 17 days between cycles,
so 51 to 60 days with the ram should get all the ewes mated, including the
yearlings, which sometimes come into heat late.
A sense of smell greatly determines a ram's awareness of estrus in the ewes.
Some breeds of ram have keener olfactory development than others and can
detect early estrus that would go unnoticed by other breeds. Those with the
“best noses” for it are Kerry Hill, Hampshire, and Suffolk rams, in that order.
Effect of the Ram on the Ewes
The presence of the ram, especially his scent, has a great effect on estrous
activity of the ewes. This stimulus is not as pronounced when the ram is con-
stantly with the ewes as it is when he is placed in an adjoining pasture about
2 weeks in advance of when you would like the breeding season to start. A
teaser ram may also be used (see Ewes, page 270).
Anyone who has had more than one ram at a time is conscious of the social
differences seen within a group of rams — one must always assert dominance.
Any time rams are reunited after a period of separation, there is the inevitable
fi ghting and head butting until the pecking order is reestablished.
There is a wide range of sexual performance among rams. It has been
documented that the mating success of dominant rams exceeds that of subor-
dinate ones. This in itself can cause problems, since aggression potential and
ram fertility are not necessarily related. If the dominant ram is infertile, then
fl ock conception rates can suffer.
Ram-Marking Harness
To keep track of the ewes that have been bred, you can try a “marking har-
ness,” which is used on the ram and is available from many sheep-supply
catalogs. The harness holds a marking crayon on the chest of the ram. Ewes
are marked with the crayon when they are bred. Inspect the ewes each day,
keeping track of the dates so you will know when to expect each one to lamb.
