Separating the rams and ewes post-breeding can look differently and we thought we would share how we completed this task.
How to separate rams from ewes seems to be handled differently by many producers. Factors that impact decisions on whether to separate rams include: housing, increased labour, size of operation, number of rams owned and decisions on breeding.
Additionally, if decided that it's best to separate them, an added factor includes whether or not you have a handling system.
On our farm, we have chosen to house our rams separately from the ewes except during sheep breeding season. We currently have 6 rams for our 300 ewe sheep operation. All 6 rams are kept indoors but in a completely separate barn from the ewe groups.
Our main reason for separating the rams from the ewes is to develop a managed lambing period. We lamb during March and May. These months are very busy with producing maple syrup in March and planting crops in May. Therefore, we need to be able to manage this lambing timeframe efficiently. If we allowed the rams to stay in with the ewes until lambing then we could potentially have an ongoing lambing timeframe. We don’t want to be lambing continuously from spring through summer months because we don’t have the housing or manpower to manage this.
Additionally, we cannot be concerned with the rams charging us unexpectedly when in with the lambs or ewes.
Check out our other video on What We Feed Pregnant Sheep Early Gestation • What to Feed Pregnant ...
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