baymule
Sustainability Master
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
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.
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!
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.
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. 
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.
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.
We love Ringo!
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
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.
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!
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.
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. 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.
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.
We love Ringo!
Some things are just priceless.
