References
Examination of rams for breeding
Abstract
Key annual events in the sheep calendar can have a significant impact on production, efficiency and, therefore, farm profits. Veterinarians can play an important and proactive role in these key events, and examination of rams for breeding is an opportunity for veterinary input into a sheep flock. Testing before mating can identify subfertile and infertile rams.
Fertility testing of newly purchased rams is a safeguard of investment, and testing existing rams before mating identifies subfertile and infertile rams, allowing them to be removed from the farm. Fertility testing is crucial for single sire mating groups. Single sire mating is becoming increasingly common as more farms look to breed their own replacements and use selective breeding to improve their flock. On farms where rams are used together, in groups of two or more, and pre-breeding examinations are not carried out, a ram could be purchased for a potentially large sum and may be kept for several breeding seasons without ever leaving a lamb. This is costly and inefficient.
Pre-breeding examinations of 280 rams, across 5 practices, showed that 16% were unsuitable for breeding (Lovatt et al, 2016). Major abnormalities included abnormalities to feet (17.6%), teeth (12.7%), and rest of body (5.5%). Reproductive abnormalities included abnormalities to the penis (1.9%), scrotum (3.9%) and prepuce (1.1%). The study also found 7.6% of testicles were too soft and 5.25% were too small.
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