Ringo, Our New Katahdin Ram

baymule

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A member on BYH said about a year ago that he was going to be replacing his ram, Ringo. I sent him a PM and asked if we could buy him. We PM'ed back and forth over the past year and finally, he was ready to let Ringo go to his new home.

The reason I wanted this ram so badly, #1. he is dog gentle. Rams are notorious for, NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A RAM. It could get you hurt and hurt badly. Ringo is so sweet, so gentle and un-ramish. We have little grand daughters that love the sheep and I couldn't let them in the lot when I had the ram in there. My first ram was all ram and I finally got tired of his shenanigans and took him to slaughter. My second ram was a good boy, I raised him. But he was related to all my ewes except 3 of them. I kept him while I waited on Ringo.

#2. He is a registered Katahdin. Not just any Katahdin, but a ram that was bred by Virginia Tech's Southwest Ag Research and Extension Center. He was bred for parasite resistance and has been wormed ONE time in the last 2 years. His owners ran fecal tests on him, so it was not guess work. He just didn't need worming. His offspring also have high resistance to worms. Therein lies his value.

https://www.apsc.vt.edu/extensionandoutreach/Sheep-Extension.html

#3. Ringo is a big boy, usually weighing over 250 pounds. Right now he comes in at 237, but he was out at pasture with ewes.

We planned out our trip, his owners invited us to stay for the weekend, which we gladly accepted. One way was 680 miles of hard driving and we were tired when we got there. We spent the next day admiring their farm, nestled in a valley in Tennessee. We admired their sheep, barn and sheep working pens. We got acquainted with Ringo and were in awe of his gentleness.

We had bought a camper top for hauling him to Texas. My husband had to take off his pretty chrome rails and install an ugly Craigslist camper top. LOL

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We have a 4 horse stock trailer and didn't want to drag it nearly 1400 miles. It would cost more in fuel and S L O W us down in our travels. So early yesterday morning, he was picked up (by 3 people) and put in the back of our pick up. Shut the tailgate and camper and we made like cow plop and hit the trail. We lit a fire for Texas, stopping only once for fuel and a potty break. Ringo stood up the whole trip. I opened the sliding glass back window several times to give him his favorite treat, animal crackers.


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We had laid a sheet of plywood in the truck bed so he wouldn't slip on the metal bed, but by the time we got home, it was pretty slippery with poop. LOL

My husband backed the truck into Ringo's pasture, we opened up the back and after a little hesitation, he jumped out. He saw the girls, they saw him and swooned at the sight of this handsome hunk!

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He spent the night in the night pen that we had ready for him. We even brought well water from Tennessee to mix with our community water to help him make the transition. We brought some of his feed to mix with what we buy so the change over can go slowly to give him time to adjust to it.

This morning I let him out to graze for a little while. Instead of rushing past me to get to the grass, he wanted attention. Ringo is such a sweetheart. I took a curry comb to brush him with, but he sniffed it, smelling horse smell, snorted and backed away. :lol: So I rubbed him with my fingers. He stood transfixed, his lips quivered a little and he got a good rubbing. Ringo has a tickle spot between his shoulder blades that makes him lift a hind leg and kick like a dog. :gig

I followed him around the pasture watching what he was eating. There is 2 types of clover, Kentucky 32 fescue, hawksbill (dandelion cousin) dock, poor joe, various weeds that he enjoyed. He is a little drawn in from his trip yesterday, but he will recover quickly. I left him on the grass for a few hours, then put him back in the night pen with hay.

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He came off lush pasture, but no clover. I put out some baking soda if he wants it and some mineral. He licked the mineral and sniffed the soda. He knows where it is if he wants/needs it.

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We love Ringo! :love :rainbowflower
 

Beekissed

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I do too!!!! :love What a fine looking ram!!! And coming from that program, he's bound to breed some excellent traits into your flock. I'm so glad he's so gentle. I love Katahdin rams anyway, as they look so regal with their manes and they seem more docile than other breeds as a ram.

Bay, I'm getting a couple Katahdin ewes this year! :weee:weee I'm so overjoyed by it!!! I may be able to get breeding services from whence I buy them and I sure do hope the stock looks as good at yours and your new ram. So far, both places I've checked out had a herd full of definite culls and wanted a lot of money for their culls.

Can't wait to see your lamb crop out of this big boy! How old is he? Did you have to pay much or was he reasonable?
 

baymule

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@Beekissed Ringo is 6 years old and has had several owners. This is his last stop. He is one in a million and will be with us until he dies. He brings new bloodlines to this area too.

His owners had standing offers for Ringo should they sell him. We paid a pittance for him because his owners wanted a good home for him more than money.

He sires beautiful lambs. We will add a few registered ewes in the future as well as breed him to our mixed flock. I plan on culling out some of the ewes, keeping the best producers. I have read on the Katahdin Registry site that I can register half Katahdins. I'll consider that if I get some outstanding ewe lambs from my mixed ewes.

I am so happy for you that you will be getting Katahdins again. I have an idea for you. Carry them to be bred or lease a ram to get them bred. The chances are very high of you getting a ram lamb from them. Keep him to breed back to your ewes, then slaughter him or keep him for the next breeding. As long as you don't keep breeding him to his own offspring and their offspring and their offspring...…. you know what I mean. It would be an easy way to rebreed your ewes without having to borrow or lease a ram. You could keep a ram lamb from each breeding for several seasons before having to lease another ram.
 

Beekissed

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. The chances are very high of you getting a ram lamb from them. Keep him to breed back to your ewes, then slaughter him or keep him for the next breeding. As long as you don't keep breeding him to his own offspring and their offspring and their offspring...…. you know what I mean. It would be an easy way to rebreed your ewes without having to borrow or lease a ram. You could keep a ram lamb from each breeding for several seasons before having to lease another ram.

Great minds think alike!! :lol: I was planning that very thing! Since I'm not keeping any of the offspring until I develop more and better grass here, he can continue to breed mama and unrelated aunt for as long as I need him. All my other ram lambs will become winter sustenance and ewe lambs will be sold.

I just hope and pray that THIS breeder will have the real deal....good, solid, large stock that I would want on my land as a representative of the Katahdin breed.
 

seedcorn

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Glad he is gentle as you are correct about rams. Came close to killing a friend of mine-put him in ER. His boys loaded that ram up nextvday for market....surprised they didn’t just shoot him.
 
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