Ram's disappearing balls...

[Danllan]

We ran on the best looking boys from last year's lambs, at about twelve months we selected the best two and then sent the remainder off. Now, we selected on criteria you'd expect, conformation, growth, how clean, coat (Easy Care), teeth, feet etc. and balls... the last two were good on all counts, so we put them in with the rams and there they've been all Summer.

I've watched them 'fill out' over the last few months and have been delighted to see them come on well and shed properly. This evening I was looking the rams over again, thinking of retiring one, when I found myself staring at one of the two new boys, he'd caught my eye but I couldn't think why, and then it struck me - there was nothing hanging down between his back legs!

On closer examination, the scrotum is still there, undamaged, but it is the size of a walnut now and seems empty. I had a feel higher up and couldn't feel anything obvious. I am rather p!ssed off and very puzzled by this and will be grateful if the resident sheep experts can comment as to this happening before in their experience.

This fellow had a very decent set of balls - for his age - when we first chose him, and they were fine in the late Spring when we picked him to be one of the two kept on, and I am pretty sure he was looking normal just in mid July - a cousin saw him and would have let me know all about it if he had looked as he does now.

So what's happened?

 

[Ysgythan]

I don’t know, but I reckon at our place he’d be nicknamed Tommy Cooper.

 

[milkloss]

Farming seems to be having this problem at the moment....... lack of balls.

 

[yellowbelly]

Hmmm. Highlights one of the drawbacks of shedders - if you'd had him on his @rse to clip him, you'd have probably spotted his deficiency earlier (insert 'little whistling guy' smiley, who's, sadly still, unavailable)

Is Sir Gar currently experiencing arctic weather conditions

 

[gatepost]

I have seen this, Testicles ok at shearing and then on getting gradually smaller, so by sale time all costs incurred obviously a Jaffa, I think there might be a genetic link, I certainly got rid of all sheep on that line, and not seen it since, not much use to a ram breeder, but maybe just some sort of damage

 

[roscoe erf]

We ran on the best looking boys from last year's lambs, at about twelve months we selected the best two and then sent the remainder off. Now, we selected on criteria you'd expect, conformation, growth, how clean, coat (Easy Care), teeth, feet etc. and balls... the last two were good on all counts, so we put them in with the rams and there they've been all Summer.

I've watched them 'fill out' over the last few months and have been delighted to see them come on well and shed properly. This evening I was looking the rams over again, thinking of retiring one, when I found myself staring at one of the two new boys, he'd caught my eye but I couldn't think why, and then it struck me - there was nothing hanging down between his back legs!

On closer examination, the scrotum is still there, undamaged, but it is the size of a walnut now and seems empty. I had a feel higher up and couldn't feel anything obvious. I am rather p!ssed off and very puzzled by this and will be grateful if the resident sheep experts can comment as to this happening before in their experience.

This fellow had a very decent set of balls - for his age - when we first chose him, and they were fine in the late Spring when we picked him to be one of the two kept on, and I am pretty sure he was looking normal just in mid July - a cousin saw him and would have let me know all about it if he had looked as he does now.

So what's happened?

Hang on let me get my crystal ‘s out

 

[Danllan]

Hmmm. Highlights one of the drawbacks of shedders - if you'd had him on his @rse to clip him, you'd have probably spotted his deficiency earlier (insert 'little whistling guy' smiley, who's, sadly still, unavailable)

I think you are clutching at straws in your attempt to disparage shedders and, at the same time, forgetting the ability of non-shedders to have their arses eaten off them by maggots - although I share you feelings in re' the appalling smileys now available. (this one looks like he's had an allergic reaction)

I have seen this, Testicles ok at shearing and then on getting gradually smaller, so by sale time all costs incurred obviously a Jaffa, I think there might be a genetic link, I certainly got rid of all sheep on that line, and not seen it since, not much use to a ram breeder, but maybe just some sort of damage

Can't see any damage at all, my first thought was that they had to have been ripped or bitten off; then I though maybe a crush of some sort, but no. Will get Mrs Danllan onto his line to see what the others with the same genes are / were like. I've not got so much experience with sheep, but have a cousin who's been with them for fifty years, he hasn't seen this, but has seen any number who have had damage and then shrunk. But the damage was obvious.

He's also had a few where the balls have gone back up, obviously no use for breeding but at least a mystery solved. I've had another feel this morning and there is no sign of anything at all... It's a pity because he's good in every other way.

 

[neilo]

Hmmm. Highlights one of the drawbacks of shedders - if you'd had him on his @rse to clip him, you'd have probably spotted his deficiency earlier (insert 'little whistling guy' smiley, who's, sadly still, unavailable)

Is Sir Gar currently experiencing arctic weather conditions

For some reason the smileys are all there on a browser on a PC, but not on a browser on an iPad. @chrisF

 

[Ysgythan]

I don’t know, but I reckon at our place he’d be nicknamed Tommy Cooper.

Then again Tommy Cooper’s re-appeared.

 

[Razor8]

Any chance he broke into the neighbors and they put the clampers in him??

 

[Danllan]

Any chance he broke into the neighbors and they put the clampers in him??

A good thought, but no chance at all, we've a good ring fence and he's been with one flock or another all the time.

 

[hendrebc]

Odd one. There is a thing where balls can twist on its pipe and cut off blood flow to it. If left long enough eventually the ball would die and I assume eventually shrivel up and I assume be absorbed into the body as it no longer serves a purpose. I've heard of it happening to a dog and it had to be castrated because it was likely to happen again even if it was untwisted (and to a friend he had them stitched in place to stop them twisting again). Could that have happened? He would have been in a lot of pain but sheep are quite good at hiding pain and probably swollen but you probably wouldn't notice if you weren't checking the balls specifically.
Or he has been butted really hard in them and they have ruptured maybe?

 

[Nithsdale]

Would he still work as a functioning teaser?

 

[neilo]

Would he still work as a functioning teaser?

No, not if he has no testicles. He’ll act no different to castrate.

 

[Nithsdale]

No, not if he has no testicles. He’ll act no different to castrate.

Did wonder that, I presume there's a hormone imbalance... but nobody else asked (maybe it was too obvious)

 

[Danllan]

Odd one. There is a thing where balls can twist on its pipe and cut off blood flow to it. If left long enough eventually the ball would die and I assume eventually shrivel up and I assume be absorbed into the body as it no longer serves a purpose. I've heard of it happening to a dog and it had to be castrated because it was likely to happen again even if it was untwisted (and to a friend he had them stitched in place to stop them twisting again). Could that have happened? He would have been in a lot of pain but sheep are quite good at hiding pain and probably swollen but you probably wouldn't notice if you weren't checking the balls specifically.
Or he has been butted really hard in them and they have ruptured maybe?

He must be a bl**dy good friend to share that with you... stitches in your balls, it doesn't bear thinking about, and now I can't stop thinking about it...

As for the rest, yes we've been considering all these sorts of things. I've checked my notes, and he definitely had them at the end of June, because me and Mrs Danllan were debating who was best and it was a dead heat on all the factors I've mentioned, one of which was his balls. As I wrote, I had a cousin here in July and he'd have noticed anything odd too, so that basically means his balls have gone in a period of a month or so.

Would he still work as a functioning teaser?

No, as a mentioned above he's a no-go on that, as far as I can work it out only a vasectomised ram can do it.

 

[neilo]

As for the rest, yes we've been considering all these sorts of things. I've checked my notes, and he definitely had them at the end of June, because me and Mrs Danllan were debating who was best and it was a dead heat on all the factors I've mentioned, one of which was his balls.

I now have an image of you standing in your ram paddock, your kecks round your ankles, with Mrs Danllan comparing ‘attributes’ to decide who was best.

Hopefully you’ll win now you’ve nobbled the competition.

 

[Danllan]

I now have an image of you standing in your ram paddock, your kecks round your ankles, with Mrs Danllan comparing ‘attributes’ to decide who was best.

Hopefully you’ll win now you’ve nobbled the competition.

Mrs Danllan knows I am best and, anyway, you make quite an assumption that I wear anything around the place...