Rams will be rams

After Mike got home from dropping off the two sheep at the processor Friday morning, we all headed back to the pasture to take care of more sheep business. First, we had to separate the rams from the ewes. Yeah, I know we're about a month late. We haven't seen any ewes in heat yet, but that doesn't mean much. To make sure we know what we don't know, we're keeping the ewes separate from the rams for at least two weeks. In other words, if any ewe gives birth five months from now or sooner, we'll know that we have no idea who sired the lambs. At least, we're hoping we can keep them separate. We had so many accidental breedings last year in spite of our best efforts. If a ram senses a ewe in heat, it sometimes feels futile to even attempt to keep them apart.

We have livestock panels as gates between the two pens, and knowing that a ram can bust through not only one, but TWO, we've added some reinforcements. We put a four-by-four post across one, and we put an old metal t-post across another. We knew just where to put it, thanks to Teddy. As soon as we locked the gate behind him, he rammed it with his head, so that's where we put the t-post. He hit it once, and I guess it didn't feel too good, or he realized it would be a losing battle. In any case, he started hitting the gate below the t-post. I don't think he'll make any progress because he can't seem to get up much steam before hitting something that low.

I am happy to report that the boys and girls are still in their respective pens, although Teddy is not a happy ram. He pretty much spends his time pacing the fenceline, looking for a weak spot. He doesn't seem to care that he has the company of two other rams. In fact, he's downright nasty to them and rebuffs their attempts to socialize. I remember clearly from last year, when we tried to keep him apart from the girls, he took out his sexual frustrations on me. After four years of being my sweet Teddy Bear, he had a go at me and gave me a couple of nasty bruises on the kneecaps, so I will not be turning my back on him again!