Meet the Rams: Chance

Breeding season is well under way. All the ewes have been with their respective groups for about three weeks now. This year we have a lot of new rams with our girls and so I thought they should be introduced.

This is Chance our white Romney ram; he will be turning three this coming February. He is also the newest addition to the farm, having only been here for less than three months. Last June we had quite the experience bringing him home from Washington.

It was about a 2 hour and 30 min drive from our little farm here in the Willamette Valley to reach Chance at his farm. We were full of anticipation because we only had seen one picture of him and another of his fleece. Upon arrival we met Chance, toured the farm and then prepared to load. We backed our truck up to a small hill and with a little encouragement, walked him into the truck.

The first picture we saw of Chance.

As we drove down the country road leading to the freeway Chance seemed a little perplexed but not too alarmed. Once on the freeway it was a completely different story! Obviously Chance had never ridden in an open truck before. All the wind, semi trucks, and overpasses scared him. He wanted out! Barely 15 minutes on the freeway he began to climb the stock rack. At the farm we learned he was one powerful ram, all brawn and muscle. I instantly was put on watch duty when Mom saw him put him feet on the rack the first time. As I watched I saw him place his front feet on the second to top rung to the stock rack. I flipped around covered my eyes and cried, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Pull over!" I swore that he was just about to disappear over the top of that rack and become road kill.

We pulled over and put the caution lights on. I quickly got into the back with him and put him on a halter. Almost instantly he began to relax even though there were still cars and semi trucks hurdling past. Mom began making calls, first to the owners of the farm but they didn't pick up. Then to two friends who own sheep. Through their suggestions we tied his head down as low as we could using the tie down rings in the bed of the truck. Then I put a sweatshirt over his head and ears. Finally, I shoved alfalfa under his nose, to hopefully keep him content. We then proceeded, though much slower than the speed limit. Several times we stopped to adjust his sweatshirt and hay. He did become a little restless at times but we finally made it home. It was a very scary experience for both us and Chance.

Now Chance is contently out with his girls. He is with 8 ewes and has bred all of them at least once so far. We can tell because the harness he wears holds a crayon on his chest. When he mounts a ewe he will leave a mark on her rump. This allows us to have an estimate of when she will be due. We change the crayon ever 16 days or so. A ewe will come in heat about every 16 days. So if for some reason the first breeding was not successful and she is re-bred we will know.

The sheep enjoy eating the leaves off this tree that fell recently.

So far everyone in his group has been bred once and there has only been one re-mark. His lambs will be due the end of January and the start of February.

Check back soon for another ram profile.