Sheep Industry News September 2025

Teaser rams, like other advanced reproductive techniques, are just a tool to help bring your females into heat sooner and hopefully in a tighter timeframe than with natural breed ing by itself. They are not a requirement, and they might not work well for everyone. Some of the drawbacks to utilizing teaser rams would be the actual surgery. Both the cost to perform it and the task of finding someone qualified to do it can be hard to justify for some people needing a teaser ram

quickly. Producers do sell teaser rams from time to time but be cautious because this male may not have impregnated females, but he certainly has performed the act of breeding them and may be transmitting disease without your knowl edge. Only purchase from someone you know has healthy animals that you can trust. If you already have your females around males, then utilizing a teaser ram may not benefit your flock much due to the females already being exposed to male pheromones. Teaser rams still act like rams! This cannot be overstated as these males can still be aggressive and have just as much attitude as their fertile counterparts. Treat teaser rams just like your fertile rams in terms of housing them in solid structures and/or within well maintained fences. Teaser rams also need to have good teeth, vision, structure and be healthy with a high libido. A few sheep breeds that make good teasers include hair breeds, Suffolk, Dorset and Finn Sheep. The goal of utilizing teaser rams is to tighten up your breeding window and therefore your lambing window as well. Good planning is essential to using teaser rams successfully, as well as doing your research and asking questions. Have this conversation with fellow producers, your veterinarian, or an Extension professional in your state to help you decide if using a teaser ram could benefit your operation.

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