It's that time of year again...

Breeding season...for sheep. How do I know? My yearling ram Twist has busted out of his pasture for the last 3 nights in a row. And he's not alone. I've talked to a few other shepherds in my area, and the same thing has been happening in the last few days to their rams. Some have been luckier than Twist and have gotten to the ewes earlier than planned, which will mean lambs born in March, which is too cold for my style of lambing.


Rams in their pen (clockwise from L-R: Ferris, Benjamin, Bok Choy and Twist)

As the nights get cooler, the breeding rams start being more interested in the ewes across the fence than they are in their food. The annoying thing about Twist is that I don't know how he's getting out. The fence is 4 feet high and I've heard that if they want to get on the other side, they can jump, but I still find that hard to believe. I've checked my fence and there is an area where the fence has come loose from the post (a tree actually) and it's possible that he is shimmying under the fence, but I find that hard to believe as well. It's a page wire fence, and he has horns that could get stuck, so I just can't imagine rams being able to do that. Just in case, I put old hay bales in the area where the fence is loose (I'm currently out of fence staples) to prevent him from "crawling" underneath, but he still got out late that afternoon. I may also put a wire line on the fence another foot up to increase the height of my fence. The funny thing about Twist, is that he is getting out, but on the forest side of his pasture. His pasture has a common line with the girl's pasture, yet he isn't using the quickest route. Until he figures out his next step, he munches happily away on the scrub in the forest and picking up burrs in his fleece to irritate me come shearing time. I'm starting to think that he is enjoying his game, because to get him back, I shake a scoop of grain at him, allowing him to get a mouthful before I get him to follow me around the pasture and back into his enclosure. Yesterday I managed to tease him with the grain, enough to follow me, without ever giving him any...he's not going to get the better of me! Leading the ram back to his pasture is a bit of a comical sight as I carry the grain scoop in one hand and an empty 18L water jug in the other, walking backwards being ready to thwart his attempts to butt me in his frustration. What must the neighbours think?