Ram Fertility Discussed by Veterinarian

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 33, 15 December 1950, Page 6

Ram Fertility Discussed by Veterinarian

Within the next month or six weeks most of the rams which are bought by private sale in the North Island will be purchased. From the point of view of the Gisbourne Veterinary Club’s senior veterinarian, Mr. R. Crawford, the main factor to be cosidered is the fertility of the ram. “In the past this has often been neglected in ,the selection of sires for hill-country and flat-land flocks,” he said. Over the past few years, however, various ram-selling organisation had instituted a system of examination of the rams sold publicly at fairs, in which the matter of the ram’s genial organs was considered. In most cases the examination was carried out by inspectors appointed by the breed society. Mr. Crawford said it had been done with the object of maintaining a standard within the breed. Sheep were culled from the point of view of breed, type and freedom from abnormalities, especially in the teeth and feet. “They have also examined the testicles of these sheep and in some cases no doubt they have done an adequate job,” Mr. Crawford said. “I have the feeling, however, that it is impossible for a person not fully cognisant of the anatomy of this particular region to be accurate in II decisions made. Only Some Detected “Gross abnormalities doubtless will ( be encountered and detected. The early stage of the same condition is likely to be missed and yet these sheep are just as poor breeders as those with the more easily detected abnormalities.” He said the combination of . a wide experience in the examination of rams of all ages and.a knowledge of the anatomy was necessary before' fast, accurate and useful work could be done. Because the. ram was a seasonal breeder there was a wide range within the bounds of normality which was liable to mislead even fairly experienced operators. Most of the foregoing could easily be construed, coming as it does from a veterinarian, that the layman is incapable of doing the job,” M. Cawfod said. “Without any apology let it be said at the *beginning That this is at least partly the intention of what has been said. If the layman had the requisite knowledge he could do the job, and unless the veterinarian had the experience he could not do the job. “That a proportion of both theram selling and buying community are coming to recognise this is now clear. The first step was the appointment of veterinarians as referees where judgment by inspectors on breeding soundness was challenged. “The next step was the appointment of veterinarians to give their opinion on breeding soundness, relieving the inspectors appointed by the breed societies of this duty. The third, and easily the most significant step, has been the completely spontaneous action of some breeders this year in having their complete flock of 2-th rams examined by a veterinarian for breeding soundness before being offered for sale. Breeders’ Determination “This is more than a gesture on the part of the breeder to his clients,” said Mr. Crawford. “It is testimony of their determination to keep up the quality of the product they sell by all means possible. Although only a few breeders have yet undertaken this work, the'interest which it has aroused means that in future more and more will do so in the coming years. It will enable their clients to buy in confidence, at least to the extent that they are not buying the type of ram popularly known as “duds.” Where buyers were purchasing rams by private sale Mr. Crawford said the only advice he could offer them was to see that the testicles were of moderate size and that the scrotum was free from infection. It was impossible to teach more without a demonstration, and even the advice offered was well worth while taking from the point of view of buying sheep that were likely to prove fertile. “The condition at the time of purchase is only the start of ensuring fertile rams. Their subsequent treatment by the purchaser is of much greater significance and the blame for infertility often laid at the door of the breeder could in many cases be sheeted home to the buyer because of mismanagement of the sheep after their introduction to their new home.”