shrinking scrotal

[haase]

was checking cows the other day and looking at the bull and noticed that his testicles were alot smaller, as a 15 month old the sc was 43 and now are no where near that, today checking the cows noticed a first time heifer that calved in feb 7 was in heat, this would be her third heat since I turned the bull out. Im going to pull the bull out get him semen checked and put another bull in with the cows. Was just wondering if anyone has had this happen or know what might cause this,they werent like this when he was turned out this spring it happened during the summer so I know they didnt freeze.

 

[hillsdown]

How hot are your temps now , and did you semen test him before you sent him out in the spring ? Also 43 at 15 months old, was he pushed quite a bit during winter ?

 

[piedmontese]

dang!! what kind of bull u got that had 43 sc at 15 months?

 

[haase]

Hillsdown, temps have been hot around here, the last month we have had mid 90s with heat indexs of 102 to 105 now its cooling down to the mid 80s, I bought him as a 15 month old and had him semen tested then, his scrotal measured a 43 cm, and he was only on 12 cows last year. this year I did not get him tested and hes on 12 this year.

 

[haase]

He is a Limflex bull, and hillsdown if you meant pushed hard on feed he just had hay.

 

[hillsdown]

Hillsdown, temps have been hot around here, the last month we have had mid 90s with heat indexs of 102 to 105 now its cooling down to the mid 80s, I bought him as a 15 month old and had him semen tested then, his scrotal measured a 43 cm, and he was only on 12 cows last year. this year I did not get him tested and hes on 12 this year.

OK if I got this right he was not tested by you before you sent him out this year after winter, which does make alarms go off.
Also heat is does effect a bulls scrotum's ,they have no way of heating or cooling like a cow does so he may have them hanging as low as possible right now to keep as cool as possible, so they could appear smaller than they infact are .
As far as being pushed ,he probably was as a yearling from the breeders to get 45 at 15 months ,however not definitively as ,Final Score a Gv bull of mine only on hay, measured 41 at 15 months. But, if they are pushed then it is sometimes fat deposits that measure high and when they age and are not pushed the fat deposits decrease so the scrotal will as well.
I think testing him asap is your best possible scenario at this point and go from there. As well as testing every bull each year before sending them out if you have freezing temps to deal with .
Best of luck and keep us updated .

 

[haase]

Thanks for your help hillsdown, he was a member of their denver pen, so im sure he was fed well before i got him, and he will be tested again.

 

[hillsdown]

Thanks for your help hillsdown, he was a member of their denver pen, so im sure he was fed well before i got him, and he will be tested again.

Don't know where I got 45 from, sorry Haase. I am sure more experienced seed stock and commercial breeders will add some input as well on this that could shed more light on your concerns. I hope you have been worrying for nothing , he tests great and everyone is bred .

 

[Keren]

Hi haase, scrotal circumference goes up and down as the bodyweight of the bull goes up and down, in most cases when this happens fertility is not affected. Has your bull lost some weight since he was put out with cows?

 

[haase]

keren, he has lost weight after he was with the cows, but he is not at all in bad shape, I will know more after I get him semen checked, hopefully like hillsdown said, Im worrying over nothing.

 

[hillsdown]

If you haven't read it yet it is really interesting how heat effects bulls and breeding .

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=72306

 

[Amo]

One year I had cows bulling well into October, with 2 bulls in the pasture. I do check them every April. I was scared to preg check. All was good, guess they were just frisky. Hope thats your problem as well!

 

[haase]

Amo, im the same way see cows bulling in late summer and early fall and think when I do preg check Im going to have some open ones, then it seems that I do alot of worring over nothing. This summer has been alot worse than others with the heat and lack of rain, just like most of the rest of the country, but after seeing his testicules shrink like that , Im still doing a semen test.Thanks for your help.