Author Topic: How old is this Ram? (Read 3998 times)

sheepguide · « **Reply #20 on:** May 14, 2012, 11:15:02 PM »

Just remember each person has there theory and a lot of first time sheep hunters are on here so it's best not to make it more complicated than it is. Whether it's a years growth or 6 months each annuli is counted as a year. Just so as everyone remembers that.

sheepguide · « **Reply #21 on:** May 14, 2012, 11:19:39 PM »

And the lamb tip ring that you see in the picture you posted. The first prodominent ring that sticks out plain as day at about inch two is the one that when registered will be counted as 1. It's been like that in the 10+ bighorns I've registered.

walking buffalo · « **Reply #22 on:** May 14, 2012, 11:26:57 PM »

Quote from: MAV on May 14, 2012, 10:43:18 PM

Only picked this pic because it shows the debate well. What i was taught is that there is a lamb tip which is the first couple inches then there is the first year ring again easy to see about 3 or 4 inches from there. On this guy you can,t see a second year ring in fact i would say he is right on two.

The problem is a lamb tip doesn,t end at year one it ends at around six months.

True, but the horn doesn't start to grow again until the spring, when the ram is one year old. The 1/2 year accounting is mainly used for rams harvested in the fall.

I'll say the young ram to be pushing three plus years old. He didn't grow much horn in his second year.
Look at the lack of horn curl, his tips will turn up in a year or two. This is a small, tight curled ram, that really shows how lack of horn growth in the second and especially third year of growth significantly effects future horn morphology.

sheepguide · « **Reply #23 on:** May 14, 2012, 11:44:43 PM »

After looking a a bunch of my pics Mav im actually more inclined to say the ram you posted is in that 3 year range as well.

And these will help the lamb tip ideas. This following pic is from a group of rams i watch each year. Its taken around the beginning of april if I remember right and shows a just turning 4 year old along side a yearling lamb. It shows his exact horn growth in his first year of life.

These next few show lamb tips or the first registerable annuli on a few in the same band to reference the length.

And the following is a ram registerd at 5 1/2 years old. The numbers are backwards but still shows the actuall rings. And his rings are like any ram way more dominant on the inside of his horns.

MAV · « **Reply #24 on:** May 15, 2012, 12:46:27 AM »

Quote from: sheepguide on May 14, 2012, 11:15:02 PM

Just remember each person has there theory and a lot of first time sheep hunters are on here so it's best not to make it more complicated than it is. Whether it's a years growth or 6 months each annuli is counted as a year. Just so as everyone remembers that.

No question sheep this is more an excercise in alternative thinking and what if than science. The first i heard of this was from an old hunting buddy and i have read something about it from i think south Dakota take that for what it is worth. I guess in Alberta it isn,t that critical to age sheep as there is no age limit so it is easy to be cavalier about it.

I guess for all those heading out it,s important to remember it is your responsibility to make sure you are harvesting a legal ram so be familiar with the requirements and don,t take chances. Passing up a squeaker is never a bad decision.

Edit: did a quick search it was actually Ruby Mountain Nevada. I knew I had seen that picture I posted as it is in that stuff. Give it a goggle. Again take it for what it is worth.

sheepguide · « **Reply #25 on:** May 15, 2012, 07:26:06 AM »

Mav not really sure what your getting at or what you want us to look up . Maybe a direct link would be better. There are a lot of faint rings or what is refered to as false annuli on bighorns and thin horns. This is what screws up a lot of people when aging sheep. All annuli start forming at less then a full year but still account for a years growth as they form when the horn slows/stops growing over the winter months. Rams are only aged at .5 when harvested because they are killed approx 6months after their birthday but have in reality almost a full years worth of horn growth already. The first most prominent line from the tip is year one or lamb tip ( spring when it was born and started instantly growing through the winter when the ring is formed until the following spring when growth picks up again)not any of the faint lines around it. These false annuli are more prevalent when hunting and aging thin horns and that is where one really has to watch and be carefull not to count the fainter rings as they aren't true annuli.

340 · « **Reply #26 on:** May 15, 2012, 12:02:17 PM »

Here's another pic of that Ram

[attachment deleted 180 days old]

McGillicutty · « **Reply #27 on:** May 18, 2012, 10:02:22 PM »

I keep getting 11 or 12. Can someone that knows how to draw the lines and marks on the picture point out the rings.

sheepguide · « **Reply #28 on:** May 19, 2012, 12:19:35 AM »

Well some has to be left to interpitation but here is my ideas on his age. From what ive read and been told most rams will broom off at an age ring due to it being the week point of the horn. Maybe its correct maybe its not but its the theory I use to get his second year ring @ the break. Year one will only be a couple inches from the tip so its easy to tell he has a lot more broomed than that. The actual broomed section will be longer than I drew it but thats my best drawing ability. So I give him 2 missing annuli. From there I get 10 visable rings with the number thirteen not being visable and being right at hair line as it is a spring picture. In the fall you would see that thirteeth year ring approx 1/4 of an inch away from the hair line as his 14th year growth will be showing. He is a guarenteed 12 but I feel he is 13.

In my opinion here are the rings I get,

MuleyHunter · « **Reply #29 on:** May 24, 2012, 09:21:59 PM »

11 or 12 tops

Author Topic: How old is this Ram? (Read 3998 times)

sheepguide

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sheepguide

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walking buffalo

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sheepguide

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MAV

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sheepguide

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340

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McGillicutty

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sheepguide

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MuleyHunter

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