How to Tell a Sheep's Age by Its Teeth: Incisor Age Chart

You tell a sheep's age by its teeth by looking at the incisors in the lower jaw (eight of them; sheep have no upper incisors). If all are small milk teeth, the animal is usually under a year old. Each pair of broad permanent incisors adds roughly: first pair about 1 – 1.5 years, second about 1.5 – 2, third about 2.5 – 3, fourth about 3 – 4 years. It is an estimate, never a substitute for a recorded birth date.

Checking teeth is an old skill that almost every breeder uses when buying stock, choosing rams and replacement ewes, or judging how much productive life a ewe has left. But it is approximate: breed, nutrition and environment all shift the timing, and two animals of the same age can differ by several months. This guide explains the method step by step, when to trust it and when you need better evidence.

Milk teeth vs permanent teeth

Sheep have eight incisors in the lower jaw only. Above them is a hard dental pad that the teeth bite against. The molars further back are hard to examine and breeders rarely use them.

• Milk (temporary) teeth: small, narrow, slightly pointed, bright white, with gaps between them. They appear in the first weeks of life.
• Permanent teeth: clearly broader and longer, becoming more yellowish with age. They come in pairs from the centre outwards, each pair replacing a pair of milk teeth.

The practical rule: count the pairs of broad teeth in the centre. One broad pair between small teeth means the animal has started its first change.

Approximate sheep age chart by teeth

Breeders in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf often use Arabic names for each stage, such as thani, rabaa and sudais, but names and cut-offs vary by region. Ages are approximate:

Once all eight permanent teeth are in, age is hard to pin down. The estimate then rests on wear, spacing and tooth length, and is much less precise.

What throws the estimate off

• Nutrition: well-fed animals may change teeth earlier than animals raised on poor grazing.
• Breed: some breeds mature earlier than others, so the timing shifts.
• Grazing and soil: sandy ground and coarse plants wear teeth faster, so a ewe can look older than she is.
• Timing of the check: a permanent tooth may be just erupting and not yet full length, leaving you between two stages.
• Sales tricks: older animals are sometimes sold as younger ones, so check yourself rather than relying on the seller.

Treat the chart as a way to narrow the range, not as a birth certificate.

How to check a sheep's teeth in practice

1. Restrain the animal calmly: stand beside it and hold it against the fence or between your knees.
2. Fold down the lower lip with your thumb; there is no need to force the jaw open, as the incisors are at the front.
3. Count the broad pairs from the centre outwards, and note any tooth that is still erupting.
4. Check condition: broken or loose teeth, or a jaw that does not meet the dental pad (overshot or undershot), is an important fault, especially in rams and breeding ewes.
5. Record the result straight away with the animal's number and tag colour, so you do not have to check again.

Goats follow a similar order of tooth change and a broadly similar timeline, with variation between animals and breeds, so use the same method with the same caution. When buying a ram, see also how to choose a breeding ram, where teeth and jaw are among the first checks.

Teeth and the Eid sacrifice: follow religious guidance

Many breeders ask about the minimum age for udhiyah or aqiqah. Terms such as jatha' and thani have meanings in Islamic jurisprudence that may not match local breeder usage exactly. For that reason we do not state eligibility ages here: follow the approved religious authority in your country. For planning your animals for the season, with Eid al-Adha 1448 expected around 16 May 2027, see preparing your herd for Eid al-Adha.

A recorded birth date beats any tooth

The best way to know an animal's age is not to need to open its mouth at all: record every lamb's birth date on the day it is born. In Throf you record the birth date, dam and sire of each newborn, and the app classifies animals automatically by age and sex: unweaned, young stock, adults, mothers and breeding males. For bought animals with no known date, enter an estimated age from the teeth on the day of purchase and note that it is an estimate. Then follow growth with weights, as in sheep weight by breed and age. If you sell rams and breeding ewes, documented age and pedigree add value; see the breeding and stud farms page.