Preparing rams for tupping time

Date published: 10 September 2025

College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Beef and Sheep Adviser John Hamilton states, “Rams can be an expensive but essential investment. They make up 50% of your breeding flock and should be well cared for throughout the year, not just before tupping.”

In March lambing flocks it is advisable that the farmer carries out a close inspection of rams around shearing time to ascertain their fitness for the forthcoming season. Rams should undergo a ram MOT having their teeth, feet, testicles and body condition checked and treated or culled accordingly. This helps you decide how many rams may need to be purchased at the upcoming sales. Purchasing rams well in advance of requirements is of paramount importance as it gives the ram time to acclimatise to the new environment before being turned out with ewes.

A large percentage of animals for sale at ram sales will have been carefully presented to look their best on sale day. However, purchasing decisions should not be based on looks alone. Selecting rams from performance recorded flocks and using Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) provides an objective measure of genetic potential and should be used in conjunction with visual and physical assessment.

Post-sale after care is vital to ensure rams are in sound condition for the forthcoming breeding season and have a long and viable working life in the years that follow.  Rams will lose a lot of body condition during the tupping period, so it is important that they are fit but not fat (body condition score of 3.5 -4) prior to starting the mating season.

An alternative to purchasing rams through auction sales is the private purchase of rams from breeders on their home farm. In a lot of cases this reduces the need for heavy concentrate feeding as there is no comparison with rams beyond their own flock mates which have been reared on a similar system.

When new rams are purchased, they should be quarantined in a small paddock with other purchased rams or a few cull ewes.  Sheep coming onto the farm should be isolated and managed separately from the existing flock for a minimum of 28 days to monitor for clinical signs of disease. Doing this will enable the containment of any infectious diseases within the quarantine group allowing them to be treated before mixing with the rest of the flock.

Although mating ratios are largely breed and terrain dependant general advice is that shearling and aged rams can cover larger groups of ewes than ram lambs who have not reached full maturity in their first season. Applying a marker such as a raddle painted onto the ram’s brisket or a correctly fitted harness with crayon helps to promptly identify repeats.  This can quickly indicate a potential fertility issue with the ram if there are more returns to service than expected.

In conclusion we must be mindful that the care of the ram is as important as that of the ewe in helping to achieve a successful compact lambing.

Contact your CAFRE Beef and Sheep Adviser through your local DAERA Direct Office for further information on all aspects of flock management.