Bighorn sheep ewe and lamb
The lamb is at the left side of the picture.
Bighorn sheep ewe
Ewe have narrow horn base and less divergent horns than young rams.
Herd of bighorn sheep
Ewes and young rams have similar appearance.
Adult bighorn sheep
A full frontal or broadside view is best for judging the size of the ram. (Never judge a rams size from behind.) Hunters should look at several rams for comparison, rather than shooting the first one seen.
Horns tell the Age
Horns tell us the age of rams, and a little less accurately, the age of ewes. Since a lamb grows its first set of horns by six months, and its second horn segment by eighteen months, the number of horn segments of a ram taken in the fall is actually one more than his actual age. For example, a ram with ten horn segments is actually 9.5 years old. In old ewes, the horns may not grow every year, so their horns may only tell their minimum age. In young ewes, the count of horn segments is probably accurate.
