Did they measure on cold days when the testicles are sucked up close to the body or on hot days where they are darn near dragging on the ground? Since they do change a lot depending on temperature....
Pound for pound and season to season the Suffolk ram's testicles are always smaller than the wool breed rams. The Suffolk scrotum always carry their testicles much higher, just below their abdomen while the wool bred rams can be just a couple inches off the ground. Also, the Suffolk does not have wool on their scrotum while the wool breed rams do. The Suffolk, in the hey day of lamb production produced more range cross- bred lambs than any other breed. Sperm number , their viability, motility percentage, percentage of sperm cells that swim in circles only, crooked tails on the sperm cell, are the most critical things for fertility. How soft or hard the epiditimus the small structure at the bottom tip of the testicle determines the passage of the sperm from the testicles. So , it should be slightly firm, not hard. Each ejaculation of the ram will provide 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 sperm cells, but only ONE is needed to produce one lamb. Now that we have hair sheep since the decline of wool prices, the Dorper ram sires more lambs than any other breed when a number of rams of different breeds are exposed to a large number of ewes at the same time in a pasture. As for fertility of a rams daughters... it is always in the genes. I would look at the production record of the ram's mother, grandmother as well as his great grandmothers and sisters' production record to get a good idea what a ram's daughters would be expected to produce.
I looked this up last year, took a soft measuring tape for the job. Capone stood still, didn't even notice me measuring him. 33cm and he was around 10 months. He is a cross between Black belly Barbados and Katahdin.
I bred him to my 2 ewes and he made 2 very beautiful ewe lambs. One is on the smaller side so not sure I will breed her. But the other is thick, big girl. at 5 months darn near the size of her mom. She should give us some nice babies.
Anyone who ever see's my ram thinks he has gigantic balls. Thinking I may need to get a photo and post after work
No objective measure here, but I swear that my rams' testicles have doubled in size in the last couple of months as the 'tupping' season approaches....
No objective measure here, but I swear that my rams' testicles have doubled in size in the last couple of months as the 'tupping' season approaches....
I don't have a 'before' of all of them,but I'll get an 'after'.One of them may just need the wide -angled lens.... OK,so now you know I'm 'talking lol' as they say around here, and there will be those who have rams with bigger assets ('more than Nature usually hands out').....but my lads aren't lacking in the scrotal stakes. Pics. to follow when a) they will stand still long enough b)I can find my camera.