Ram | male sheep (2024)

FAQs

Ram | male sheep? ›

Male sheep are called rams, the females ewes, and immature animals lambs. Mature sheep weigh from about 35 to as much as 180 kg (80 to 400 pounds). To browse sheep by breed, see below.

Rams are male sheep with big, curved horns. They prefer mountainous terrain and will often settle arguments by ramming their heads into others — hence their name. With their long fur and split hooves, rams are usually around 5 to 6 feet tall (1.5-1.8 meters) from head to tail, and can weigh upwards of 300 pounds.

A male sheep is typically called a Ram, but in large parts of Scotland we tend to call them Tups. All flocks need a Tup if they are going to have lambs. A single ram can usually fit 35-50 ewes into his schedule, meaning that big farms will have more than one.

Lambs are less than 12 months old. Adult sheep are 12 months and older. Adult females are called ewes. Adult males are called rams.

Hand raised ram lambs (bottle lambs) are not good candidates for breeding stock as they are too comfortable around humans and have no established boundaries. This may not be obvious when the ram is young – they may simply appear to be friendly – but as they mature they can become unpredictable and dangerous.

In 1949, Warwick and Berry (1) reported that many female goats mated to rams became pregnant, but the embryos died before the end of gestation.

A male lamb is called a ram lamb and a female lamb is called a ewe lamb. The newborn lambs weigh 8-10 pounds and are often born in the very early morning.

Teg – a sheep in its second year. Also hogget, old-season lamb, shearling.

Mutton refers to the flesh of the mature ram or ewe at least one year old; the meat of sheep between 12 and 20 months old may be called yearling mutton. The meat of sheep 6 to 10 weeks old…

His output and impact are much higher than that of a single ewe. So, it's standard to pay a fee commensurate with the profitability one will gain from the purchase. A herd sire is an investment. The second reason rams are more expensive than ewes is they are more hassle for me to raise.

Can I keep a ram as a pet? ›

Females (ewes) or wethers (castrated males) are recommended for pets. Intact males (rams) are not recommended as pets. Rams get larger and usually become aggressive, especially during the rut (breeding season). Naturally polled (hornless) animals are also advised.

If you plan to keep more than 1 ram on your farm at a time and don't want to or don't have room to keep them in separate areas, you will need to introduce them in a small pen or stall – like a lambing jug (stall). When rams fight for dominance, they back up, then run and headbutt (or ram) each other.

Discourage butting

Rams begin to butt at a young age. To discourage butting, you should avoid petting or scratching a ram on the head. The ram may see this as a challenge or aggressive behavior. To a ram, a person is part of the flock and he wants to dominate.

A ram is an adult male sheep. (An adult male goat is a billy goat.) And while we're at it, an adult female sheep is called a ewe, and an adult female goat is called a nanny goat.

A male goat is referred to as either a "buck"or a "billy" goat. Female goats are called "does" or "nanny" goats. Baby goats are referred to as "kids." For more information, go to Goat from Farm to Table.

An adult female is referred to as a ewe (/juː/ yoo), an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center.

At first glance, you might see the short horns and think “goat”, but these are indeed bighorn sheep ewes. Both male and female sheep and goats have horns, but notice that the horns of the goat above are jet black, and grow upwards and back, not down and around the eye like the sheep.