Author Topic: How do you tell if a lamb has an undescended testicle? (Read 9955 times)

Ladygrey · « **on:** June 17, 2012, 10:12:24 pm »

Ok, I know I already have a post on here but I am starting to get worried about a young wether of mine

I have 12 lambs altogether and 3 of them are castrated lleyn/beltex lambs, numbers 2,3 and 4

number 2 and number 3 are typical wethers, but number 4 has always been much much bigger, from 1 week old, he is heavily muscled and has a thicker wider head with very small but hard horn buds (lleyns are polled)
Recently he has started jumping on the other lambs, but only the females and he sniffs them and smacks his lips, rubbing his head on their sides! he also will head but the other lambs until his horn buds bleed. I woulndt be worried if all the lambs jumped on eachother (as they did when they were young) but its just him and he only likes the girls!

The shepherd rung them all infront of me but he was in a hurry and i didnt get to check any of them

I have had a umm feel and I cant feel much but I dont know if you can feel undescended testicles anyway

Is this possible or are some lambs just like this!? here are 2 photos of him, compared with his brother, does he look more rammy or am I just imagining it

the above is the ram looking one, below is his brother

Mallows Flock · « **Reply #1 on:** June 17, 2012, 10:30:13 pm »

Do you mean 'has he been rigged' i.e not castrated properly. I have always rung by own lambs testicles successfully but this time I managed to rig my Shetland ram lamb. For him, if I turn him over you can see and feel the 2 little bulges still inside where his testicles should be... you can literally feel them like little kumquats! Haha!
Real shame as he is a stunning looking rig...wish I had just left them now so I could show him this year! Duh!

princesspiggy · « **Reply #2 on:** June 17, 2012, 10:52:04 pm »

it took ages to ring our boreray this year as they kept springing back. so its easy for one to get left by accident. even when the vet did them last year,it took ages cos borerays are a bit tricky in the first week.

if he was entire tho, its not breeding season at the moment tho?
id guess u would be able to feel his knackers even if his bag is gone, but im not a sheep expert.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #3 on:** June 18, 2012, 02:14:19 am »

Yes, if the testicle shot back through the ring when he was castrated, you would feel it in the inguinal area; it'll move around under the skin. It'd be a fair size by now.

I'm not sure if there comes a time when the testicle is so large it gets sucked right back up into the body cavity and can't be palpated in the groin - I've not tried to do it. Someone else will know...

Ladygrey · « **Reply #4 on:** June 18, 2012, 10:33:59 am »

He has no testicle "hanging out" if you see what I mean.. I was wandering if he only had one out when the band was put on and maybe he has one inside of him! I will try and have another feel when I can catch him next but he will be finished in a month or so anyway and then he can go

Mallows Flock · « **Reply #5 on:** June 18, 2012, 05:31:05 pm »

I understand that often, even if done properly tro begin with, the testicles can move back up out of the ring. I checked and double checked mine and both testicles were both under the ring when they were done yet I still have a rig. I have been told that it just means they are less fertile as the testicle does not hang down thus the sperm gets cooked more easily. The worst is that they still have the urge and pester the ewes/infuriate whole rams!

omnipeasant · « **Reply #6 on:** June 18, 2012, 08:40:34 pm »

I have an issue with your shepherd being in a hurry. After ringing a ram lamb the person responsible must make sure that the urethra has not been trapped, at this time they will also check that the two testicles are outside the ring. I guess it doesn't really matter now if he has one or two if he is off to market or the butcher. We don't ring any of our ram lambs now.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #7 on:** June 18, 2012, 09:06:36 pm »

Quote from: Mallows Sheep and Poultry on June 18, 2012, 05:31:05 pm

I understand that often, even if done properly tro begin with, the testicles can move back up out of the ring. I checked and double checked mine and both testicles were both under the ring when they were done yet I still have a rig. I have been told that it just means they are less fertile as the testicle does not hang down thus the sperm gets cooked more easily. The worst is that they still have the urge and pester the ewes/infuriate whole rams!

Also, be aware that in a very cold winter those sperm may be able to work. We had an unexpected extra day of lambing two years ago. One day in May 2010, 10 out of a group of 60 supposedly untupped hoggs lambed. We worked it back, they'd have been tupped on the winter's day when the temperature plummeted to -21C. Later in the year, we found a wether lamb in amongst that group of gimmers - clearly he was an improperly castrated tup lamb and those internal sperm had worked on that very cold winter's day! One of our neighbours had a crop of unwanted May lambs that year too - they kept rigs as teasers, to sharpen up their lambing, and then after tupping left the rigs running with the ewes...

Ladygrey · « **Reply #8 on:** June 18, 2012, 09:18:32 pm »

Interesting..well I will keep an eye on him, omnipeasant yes the shepherd was a bit hurried but I cant do much about that now, I am pretty sure I did check the lambs just after I got them but not sure if I got them all, maybe 1has slipped back inside, only time will tell but he isnt in with the ewes so should be fine