Keren
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2006
- Messages
- 3,415
- City & State/Province
- My little patch of earth, Perth, WA, Australia
:frowns: Groan . . . had a look at my buck on Sunday, discovered one extremely swollen testicle . . . a week before I wanted to put him out with the does. Its not looking good. Got a vet appointment this afternoon so will see what he thinks. The swelling isnt particularly hot, isnt particularly painful, he doesnt have a temp, there are no lesions or injuries on the scrotum, the testicle still moves freely in the scrotum, the cords feel normal, the testicles themselves are slightly but not desperately soft, he is not sick with it, he hasnt completely gone off his food but he has reduced his intake, he is still bright and alert.
Hmmm . . . I am at a loss. Will have to see what the vet says. But either way, I figure he's not going to be fertile for this breeding season. In a way, its probably going to be better if the vet says he is permanently infertile, at least then that only leaves one option, which is get rid of him and find another buck within the next week or two. But if it is an injury/bruise that is only temporary and will heal up, I end up with all sorts of options. Do I keep him and treat him, and get another buck for this breeding season? In which case I will be feeding a buck for another year that is not working for me, and (considering I have very limited space) I will have the extra hassels of finding another buck pen for the sick one while the other is out working. Do I keep him and teat him, and delay my breeding until he is better? But then that leads to the question of WHEN will he be able to work, will he recover in time before the breeding season is over? Because if I wait on him and he doesnt recover before the end of breeding season, I dont want to be carrying empty/dry does for a whole year. If he does recover during the breeding season, that means my kidding dates are going to be late, and not only would they probably then be kidding while I am at melbourne show, but those kids would be too young for Canberra show, too young at weaning and also too young for their first shearing, which means I would have to either shear them young and the fleece would be worthless, or wait and shear them seperately, which would be a pain but then they wouldnt be right for the next shearing . . . It just goes on and on.
:frowns: Dont know what to do at the moment, its really getting to me and I just wanted to get it out of me, cos I've been stewing on it. Bottom line is, I cant decide anything until I have spoken to the vet this afternoon, so theres no point me worrying about it until then. But you know how it is, that logic doesnt stop me from thinking about it constantly.
Sigh - some hard decisions are going to have to be made. I havent got kids out of this buck yet, and he is the sweetest natured guy. I'd hate to have to cull him. But I also dont want to miss breeding, and I dont want to be supporting a non-working buck.
Hmmm . . . I am at a loss. Will have to see what the vet says. But either way, I figure he's not going to be fertile for this breeding season. In a way, its probably going to be better if the vet says he is permanently infertile, at least then that only leaves one option, which is get rid of him and find another buck within the next week or two. But if it is an injury/bruise that is only temporary and will heal up, I end up with all sorts of options. Do I keep him and treat him, and get another buck for this breeding season? In which case I will be feeding a buck for another year that is not working for me, and (considering I have very limited space) I will have the extra hassels of finding another buck pen for the sick one while the other is out working. Do I keep him and teat him, and delay my breeding until he is better? But then that leads to the question of WHEN will he be able to work, will he recover in time before the breeding season is over? Because if I wait on him and he doesnt recover before the end of breeding season, I dont want to be carrying empty/dry does for a whole year. If he does recover during the breeding season, that means my kidding dates are going to be late, and not only would they probably then be kidding while I am at melbourne show, but those kids would be too young for Canberra show, too young at weaning and also too young for their first shearing, which means I would have to either shear them young and the fleece would be worthless, or wait and shear them seperately, which would be a pain but then they wouldnt be right for the next shearing . . . It just goes on and on.
:frowns: Dont know what to do at the moment, its really getting to me and I just wanted to get it out of me, cos I've been stewing on it. Bottom line is, I cant decide anything until I have spoken to the vet this afternoon, so theres no point me worrying about it until then. But you know how it is, that logic doesnt stop me from thinking about it constantly.
Sigh - some hard decisions are going to have to be made. I havent got kids out of this buck yet, and he is the sweetest natured guy. I'd hate to have to cull him. But I also dont want to miss breeding, and I dont want to be supporting a non-working buck.
