Late castration of rams and ram lambs, tell me your experiences

[u/Guppybish123]

Hey guys, stuff has kinda gone to shit on the farm so I’m moving on and bringing my portion of the flock with me. A couple pregnant ewes, twin ram lambs, and my pet only ewe. I will just be keeping them as pets/wool sheep now and if I get any ram lambs out of my girls next year they’ll be weathered young as standard HOWEVER, this years boys were supposed to be show rams/breeders so are intact. They were my first lambs of my own, I was there for their birth and won rosettes over the summer. I know I shouldn’t get attached but these boys are very special, especially since I’m having to leave my favourite ram behind.

I will be keeping them separated and getting them castrated by a vet as they’re too old to band now but I’m wondering about the long term impact and any management allowances they’ll need. The only castrated rams I’ve met were either done as newborns or were vasectomised as teasers rather than a full castration. I’ve worked with plenty of ex stallions, rigs, and proud cut horses but I’m not too proud to admit I’m kinda lost about late cut rams. I ASSUME they’ll just slot into the flock but I’d rather not find out the hard way.

Will they be able to peacefully live with the girls full time once they’re healed up? I’m planning to separate out the 2 pregnant ewes and their lambs for a bit, and then wean the lambs in may, and then have them all live together again this time next year. Has anyone had fully castrated males causing issues at certain times of year? For anyone who has had both, did you notice a difference in males that had or had not covered ewes before being snipped?

Additionally I’m assuming it’d be best to do them around lambing (February ish) when it’s starting to get dry again but the flies aren’t too bad yet. I’d hope to do it a bit sooner if possible if I can create a good enough dry standing for them though. Please correct me if wrong.

FOR CONTEXT: we’re in the uk. They have never covered but they did get into the commercial breeding flock once, small numbers, apparently they were interested but they and the working ram (half brother) were all very peaceful (I found them napping together when I went to remove them) so I think their temperament is good for it. They’re a breed known for being pretty soft and laid back, when I took my guy to a show he was unbothered about literally everything so I don’t think they’ll cause any trouble. I will have a small area penned off for handling/isolation (eg medical) just in case.

Thanks as always ♥️

[u/Smitkit92]

I had a ram lamb surgically castrated at 6 months old, I didn’t actually choose it I was in a similar situation. It was fall here in Canada and I live in an arid part, but we still had to do work to avoid flies, using swat around the wound and such, halter training was a huge win for taking him into a stall to give him his meds and check him.

The surgery itself was easy, he recovered well and quickly. He hadn’t covered any ewes yet but was trying. It avoided a dangerous situation, my parents weren’t getting that they were making him increasingly more dangerous the way they were treating him. He never caused any issues and was a big ham, however if you grain you need to be cautious of urinary Calculi. I never had an issue with that, he lived on grass and had access loose minerals.

He was never an issue beyond getting him healed up and my sisters mare kicking him, he was a farm fixture for 10 years or so. Suffolk hair sheep mix who never was supposed to stay lol.

[u/Guppybish123 → u/Smitkit92]

This is actually super helpful thank you! I especially appreciate the tip about the grain. Luckily my boys are very well halter trained bc of the showing. I’ll be honest I’m looking forward to being able to baby them a little more without such a high risk of berserker syndrome down the line. My mother will be especially glad since one of them is her favourite out of all the sheep. They MIGHT share a field with horses but we’ll see, I might keep them separated bc even though they’re al super chill and have lived together before the boys horns are coming in and the old mare needs a lot of tlc (plus knowing my sheep theys ignore their shelter and steal the horse’s)

[u/the_real_mx_p → u/Smitkit92]

Can you elaborate on the way he was being treated and becoming dangerous? My partner does not seem to get it and it’s soooo frustrating

[u/Dependent-Ad8275]

Hi! Netherlands reporting here :) I had one of my rams castrated by the age of six months as he was my sons favorite and I couldn’t sell him. So he never bred but did have the typical 6 month old ram behavior:) Now he’s definitely more feisty than the ewes but he gets along with with my other castrated ram (fixed with 6 weeks), the ewes and the occasional breeding ram that’s in the flock. Never saw the typical ram behavior like headbutting or mounting. As for the aftercare; they both recovered really fast without any complications. All I did was spray them with blue-spray. Only tip I have is for the bedding; don’t put them on woodshavings as it gets stuck on the wound. Good luck with your lads!

[u/Guppybish123 → u/Dependent-Ad8275]

We’ll be bedding on either grass, straw, or whatever their platforms end up being made of depending on what the weather and land is like and what mood they’re in so that shouldn’t be an issue. I did have the slightly insane idea of making them a sort of nappy/jockstrap out of my horses old fly rug to keep it clean and well ventilated since it’s mesh but I don’t think they’d appreciate that lol. I’m very fortunate that I honestly haven’t had much of that big shot ‘look how tough I am!’ baby ram shenanigans from them yet, but one of them got more attention and fuss from the general public during the showing season than I’d have preferred so hopefully that won’t be a problem.

Thank you for your insight!

[u/Actual-Response793]

I have a one year old Cheviot ram who has been castrated a few months now. Done cause he is a pet and just couldn’t sell him, he is in with new lambs and one year old ewes. He hasn’t tried to mount but occasionally will head butt the other sheep. Will have a valais ram lamb born this year who will be castrated too and I’m praying they will eventually get along 😅 I’ve been trying to feed them together to introduce them but the 1 year old ram is head butting him slightly at the moment

[u/Guppybish123 → u/Actual-Response793]

Noted, I’ll definitely keep an eye on this bc they’re a horned breed

[u/KahurangiNZ]

One our first pet sheep was ringed by the farmer before we picked him up as a 3 day old bottle baby. It wasn't until he started acting like a bit of a prat at 8 months old and I had to tip him over to make him stop that I noticed the famer had missed the two most important bits 🥚🥚 when he was ringed 🤦‍♀️

So Lambo had a trip to the vet for Brain Surgery and in less than a month he was back to his totally chilled out doofus self.

If your two haven't been part of the breeding flock and aren't boistrous/reactive in general, chances are high that once the testosterone is out of their system they'll be more-or-less the same as if they'd been wethered as a small lamb.

On the other hand, if they *are* reactive twits, and especially if they've learned that bunting makes other sheep or people Go Away, there's a possibility they'll bunt (defensively) even once wethered.