1 yr old Nigerian buck with lump @ the top of his testicles?

[Ingrid]

Just put our buck in with the girls about a week ago.

This evening, while feeding, I noticed a lump in his escutcheon area right where the testicles start. It's soft, and almost feels like a tendon...but it's a lump. He is eating grass hay morning/evening (separate from the does who get alfalfa) and also gets black oil sunflower seeds and loose goat minerals regularly.

My question is, has anyone experienced this and know if its something I should be concerned about?

Thank you!

 

[junkprospector]

i don't know about in goats, but in humans (i would assume other mammals) there can be spermasicle (my spelling may be off) - that cause soft lumps around the tissue that surrounds the testicle. I think i would just watch it for growth or changes.

 

[elevan]

Could be a hernia?

You might want to have your vet check it out to find out for sure what's going on.

 

[SheepGirl]

Have a vet come look at him. See what it is, and have a breeding soundness exam done on him. Any abnormality to the testes may cause a sterility problem. Best to get this figured out ASAP so your kidding season isn't delayed. You may need a new buck.

 

[Ingrid]

Yep, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this...but I was observing him and I almost wonder if it's a part of his anatomy. Because it goes away when he's relaxed, then if he gets excited it comes back like it's a tendon that retracts...?

 

[Ingrid]

So I did a bit of research on the anatomy of a bucks testicles, and have decided if it's related or in the spot of something it is the vas deferens. Also an article here:

AGE RELATED CHANGES IN THE VAS DEFERENS OF GADDI GOAT (CAPRA HIRCUS) - AN ANATOMICAL STUDY
ARCHANA ARCHANA, R S KATIYAR, D N SHARMA, M M FAROOQUI

ABSTRACT

The gross anatomy and histology of vas deferens were investigated in 30 male Gaddi goats (one day-old to 73 months old), divided into 3 groups, viz. prepubertal (one day-old to <18 months), pubertal (>18 months to<60 months) and post-pubertal (>60 months) animals- with 10 animals in each group. The vas deferens extended from cauda epididymis to pelvic urethra and had extra-abdominal, abdominal and ampullary parts. It dilated near its termination to yield ampullary part. The ampulla contained tubulo-alveolar glands in the mucosa, which were few in new born kids and more widely spread in the pubertal and post-pubertal animal. The length of various components did not differ significantly on either side but the ampulla was always longer on left side. At birth the lining epithelium was simple columnar, which transformed to pseudostratified ciliated columnar type in pubertal animals. The epithelial cells appeared more vacuolated in pubertal and post-pubertal animals.


The reason this article sparked my interest was the sentence, "The vas deferens extended from cauda epididymis (the first external duct of the testicles, the "epididymis transports matures, nourishes, and stores spermatozoa produced in the testes." Also it is the site where spermatozoa acquire mobility.) to pelvic urethra and had extra-abdominal, abdominal and ampullary parts. It dilated near its termination to yield ampullary part. The ampulla contained tubulo-alveolar glands in the mucosa, which were few in new born kids and more widely spread in the pubertal and post-pubertal animal."

I'm not a very scienc-y smart person, but I do have to wonder if its just a part of his ampulla that seasonally changes. Here is a link to the full study:

http://www.scielo.cl/pdf/ijmorphol/v26n1/art22.pdf