A Crash Course in Ram Selection
A ram is 50% of your flock. Some will even go so far as to say 60%. I first picked up this lesson while showing in the flock class of the sheep show at my county fair. The class is one you’ll find at most shows and is an opportunity for exhibitors to show off a snapshot of their breeding program with four ewes and one ram shown together. Why designate half the group’s value to one out of five individuals you ask? We’ll get to that. The judge evaluates your group as a package deal, how the ewes match the ram. The same evaluation we each do in our own barns. No matter what you’re raising sheep for, the first step towards success is made before breeding season. Before ewes come into heat, before rams are running, before thinking about conception rates or lamb survival, you need a plan for breeding. So, let’s begin.
I know this is supposed to be about picking a ram but we’re going to start with the ewes. Trust me, it’ll make sense by the end. There’s one word that you should always think of when developing your ewe flock. Uniformity. Hold off on the “why” and let’s first cover the “how.” We all start off by purchasing sheep from someone else, right? Most of us aren’t entirely informed when we make that exciting initial purchase and might not start off with a group of uniform ewes from one or two breeders. That was me. I intentionally sought out very different ewes from different flocks because at that naive stage of my shepherding career I thought it was a good idea. If that’s you too, don’t fret. Starting off with diversity can also be an asset for you as you learn and develop alongside your flock. Because, a hodgepodge mix of characteristics and qualities gives you a lot to work with for this next step. Ready for it? Cull. I know that can be hard to do but it will be worth it. Pick a direction you want to go in and figure out which ewes work with those goals. After a year or two of breeding you’ll know a lot about each ewe and what kind of offspring she produces. Keep the ewes and replacements that match your goals and cull what doesn’t. You won’t be able to cull your way down to a uniform group in one year or even five years probably. This is where patience and planning come in handy because the evolution of your ewe flock is a long-term project. No matter how you start, you can work towards uniformity with thoughtful selection. I say “work towards” and not “achieve” because there’s no finish line. That thought brings us to our next step.
Know your flock’s flaws. We all get to be the judge in our own barn because to improve your flock you need to know what to improve. You have “uniformity” tucked away as a nagging concept in the back of your brain. Now make “there’s no such things as a perfect sheep” it’s neighbor. Endless years and expertise still won’t produce a flawless flock. However, for the sake of us potentially overwhelmed shepherds still in the novice stages of breeding sheep I like to break evaluations down into two categories. First is the black and white, the points that can be marked with a “yes” or “no.” Straight hocks, a proper hip angle, strong top, ewes accepting their lambs, and the ability to produce milk and feed those lambs are just a few examples. This is a good place to start with a breeding program even if you’re unsure of the exact direction you want to go in. Another way I think of this category is correctness. Structural points are correct or they’re not, a ewe will raise her lambs or she won’t. If you feel like you’ve reached the point where your ewe base covers all the basics fear not for there is more to be done. The next category I fit the rest of the observable qualities into is what I call the more-or-less category. Things like more length of loin, faster growth, more consistent fleeces, more milk production. You can just as easily need to reel in some qualities that are too exaggerated such as striving for less fanatical mothering behavior, smaller mature size, lighter birth weights. Whether you’re just focused on the black and white, looking at the more or less, or a mix of both you are on your way towards breeding better sheep. Approaching your flock with a critical eye will help during keep/cull decisions for uniformity as well as during our next step. Bring on the boys.
Imagine you have a ewe flock of however many sheep you want. Five, fifteen, fifty, five hundred it doesn’t matter because the strategy is the same. If each of those ewes has drastically different flaws, how will you pick a ram to compliment them? That’s the purpose a ram serves: to compliment your ewe’s strengths and weaknesses. This is most efficiently done if you have a uniform group of ewes. Connecting the dots yet? I frequently hear beginning shepherds stressing out about finding a superb ram. It’s a great ideal to search for the best of the best but not always a realistic option and, even more importantly, might not do much real good for your flock. A ram that compliments your ewes will have his own obvious flaws but as long as they are not the same flaws as your ladies then good lambs can still be made from the match. Hearing the 50/50 figure to describe one ram and however many ewes can make the newbie shepherd think they have to emphasize perfection when looking for the next sire for their flock. You certainly do want a good one but understanding and being honest about your ewes can take a little pressure off of the ram.
Our lead Finn ram, Lewis, looks on with gentle contentment as one would surrounded by cycling Finn ewes.
You only need one ram to breed a whole lot of ewes. When the judge evaluates a flock class at a show or you look over your flock in the field, all of your ewes can be thought of as half of the equation. Then they only need one ram to make up the rest of the equation. Fun fact: rams can generally breed three to five ewes per day. Depending on how long you expose a ram to ewes, that means he could breed 50 or more ewes in one season. Even with these wicked fertile figures, many of us choose to keep extra rams and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s plenty of reasons you might opt for more than one set of testicles such as having a backup in the case of morbidity and mortality or maybe because your ewes aren’t entirely uniform yet and are better treated as two different groups during breeding season. Whether you have it down to one ram or need two, keeping as few as possible cuts down on a significant expense (he might only work for a few weeks out of the year, but he’ll need to eat every day) and creates more uniformity. Uniformity! You’re going to think that’s my favorite word by the end of this and I’m okay with that. Imagine your dream flock of five or five hundred ewes and image all their happy lambs running around almost to weaning age. If they all have the same sire, then they’re bound to share characteristics in common! And there you go, another step made towards uniformity.
I sure hope this hasn’t overwhelmed you even more because the most important thing to remember about all of this daunting breeding stuff is this: it takes time. In 1500 words we’re walking through a process that can take a lifetime. This is the approach to take if you’re in it for the long haul, if you’re willing to make hard choices on culling and put the years in to develop your own flock with your own lines which can be an important tool when marketing breeding stock. It’s not an easy task though and might not make sense for your flock if raising sheep is something you do just for fun. I’m promoting this concept not from expert status but from just-starting-to-get-a-grasp-on-it status. Colin and I have been having lots of in-depth debates about all of these points for our own flock. We’re a decade in and somedays feels like we’re still just a toe over the start line. If you’ve felt this sort of self-induced limiting of progress yourself don’t forget, each new day you approach your flock goals again you’re bringing just a little more experience than the day before. I’m excited to be wading into the next phase of development for our flock because I know we’re working for the sheep. Responsible breeding serves the betterment of your flock, the greater good of the industry, and the new shepherds who will be getting involved with the breed. Whatever your reason for raising sheep, taking on that kind of responsibility is something to be pretty proud of.
Cheers,
Siri