It Pays to look after your Rams

More tips on Ram Management

Extra care in the two months prior to mating leads to higher fertility.

Emphasis is placed on ram fitness, and yet very few farmers exercise their rams before the mating season.

Ram Effect

The introduction of rams early in the breeding season stimulates ewes to ovulate within 3–6 days (without showing oestrus, if this is the first ovulation of the breeding season) and show oestrus about 17 days later.

Ewe flocks stimulated by the ram effect are thus likely to be synchronized.

Rams introduced several weeks before normal onset of oestrus may have no effect and late introduction will only stimulate those few ewes, which have not begun cycling.

Reproduction and breeding

1.         Test rams and teaser rams before mating by a Vet (fertility & venereal diseases)

2.         Test serving ability and libido of rams

3.         Use teaser rams 8–10 days before mating

4.         Condition of rams should be good prior to mating and they should be fit

5.         Rams should have short wool during mating Ram Effect

 Pro-active or preventative medicine requires that certain management procedures are done in advance to ensure that the animals are healthy and in a good “working” condition when peak performance is required. In a ram this is at mating time, or during the breeding season.

What does preventative medicine in rams entail?

* Ensure a good spread of young and old rams by replacing 25% of the ram flock yearly.

* Shear rams regularly. Preferably every 6 months in wool breeds.

* Do proper hoof care. Trim hooves before the mating season and treat cases of foot rot as early as possible. 

* Give a balanced ration especially in the two month period prior to mating when sperm cells are formed.

* Get rams fit by walking them briskly for a minimum of half an hour early in the morning or during the late afternoon.

* Supply adequate shade, especially in the warmer parts of the country.

* Additional vaccination against Bluetongue and Brucellosis is also recommended.

*Dose / deworm preventatively. A sick or parasitized ram cannot produce top quality semen.