Ewes with balloon tits

[DB67]

What actually causes it? Can it be from soil or grass? Had a couple ewes in same field last few days. Nightmare.

 

[Top Tip.]

What actually causes it? Can it be from soil or grass? Had a couple ewes in same field last few days. Nightmare.

I always thought it was genetic as with cows certain bulls leave cows with big teats I do agree it is a total pain.

 

[DB67]

I always thought it was genetic as with cows certain bulls leave cows with big teats I do agree it is a total pain.

Tends to be older ewes, rarely see it in a gimmer. You can see before they lamb the tit grow in size and two wee twin lambs will struggle without regularly emptying out. A big texel may manage okay but I had to take 3 triplet mule lambs off a ewe yesterday as they had no hope as it wasn't even drawing out particularly easily.

 

[neilo]

I always considered it genetic. I ave culled on it for years, so no daughters of those ewes have entered the flock either. I I get one a year now, I scowl at her before I clip the end off her ear.

I know you're not going to like it, but it was one of the reasons why we moved away from buying in mules.

 

[tepapa]

Genetic, and unfortunately these girls with big teats produce loads of milk and rear great looking (size) ewe lambs which are then kept for breeding themselves but thats ok as their probably very pretty with good colour.

 

[Top Tip.]

Genetic, and unfortunately these girls with big teats produce loads of milk and rear great looking (size) ewe lambs which are then kept for breeding themselves but thats ok as their probably very pretty with good colour.

Ouch..... Miaow!!

 

[CharcoalWally]

Get it rarely thankfully in sheep , but in cattle I always linked it to rougher, coarse framed, strong boned stock that tended to be less refined.

In my experience smooth framed cattle with a more refined bone structure keep a far tighter vessel with smaller teats. Absolutely won't have a pendulous, big teated cow on the place.

 

[cheviot53]

Certainly get a lot less since the swales went , so far this year marked 2 to cull ,4& 5 crop both with swale blood in them

 

[M-J-G]

I'm pretty sure it's genetic, given that the more you cull for it the less there are.

That fact that older animals are the ones you have issues with is simply because it takes a few years to become apparent.

I find poor udder conformation to be a huge inconvenience in a dam and particularly since it causes extra work ar time when you need it least.

As @CharcoalWally says, in beef cattle, it seems to follow lines that are coarse and not very feminine.

 

[DrDunc]

Genetic

Notch the ear and cull

Notch the offspring and cull

Sheep should be there to keep you, not you there to keep the troublesome ewe

 

[tepapa]

Lambed loads of scotch mules with large teats, it wasn't until i did a job lambing blackies that i realised where the trait came from.

 

[Nithsdale]

Lambed loads of scotch mules with large teats, it wasn't until i did a job lambing blackies that i realised where the trait came from.

Scotch Mules are pretty bad for 'losing control' of their bags.

 

[DrDunc]

Lambed loads of scotch mules with large teats, it wasn't until i did a job lambing blackies that i realised where the trait came from.

That's the fault of the blackie fashion followers who lamb indoors and turn them out to grass.

Blackface should lamb by themselves unassisted on heather.