Bugzy appears dried up?

[Bugzy4Lady]

Help- Yesterday I was planning on using Bugzy for a breeding and prior to bringing the doe to him I checked him and he appears to have dried up. He is just about 1 1/2 yrs old and been a proven breeder in the past. The weather has been warmer than usual. Could temps in the mid 70's cause him to go sterile? I know last year when we had several days in the 90's both of my bucks went sterile for a month or so. He is getting plenty of fresh greens and a T of BOSS each day. Any ideas on what could be causing this or anything else I could feed him? Maybe I should get him a prescription to the BLUE pill. :lol: I don't think my insurance would pay for that.

 

[trinityoaks]

How do you know he "dried up"?

 

[Bugzy4Lady]

When I checked his testicles both were withdrawn into the groin and had a withered look. Based on what I read in Bob Bennett's book that is a sign he may be sterile. In the past they have been full. Plus in the past few months I have had very few successful breedings and I am wondering if the problem was with Bugzy and not the does. I ended up using the other buck that I have. Did someone say before that parsley was good for improving fertility?

 

[SMR]

Unless it is really warm or they're excited bucks usually aren't 'full' in appearance as they draw up. They're not like dogs or cats. Give him a doe and THEN check him, providing he looks/acts healthy other wise. Problems with bucks usually don't happen with 70 temps, now after they hit 80+ there's more of a possibility but I've had some that kept producing no matter how hot it got.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

When I checked his testicles both were withdrawn into the groin and had a withered look. Based on what I read in Bob Bennett's book that is a sign he may be sterile. In the past they have been full. Plus in the past few months I have had very few successful breedings and I am wondering if the problem was with Bugzy and not the does. I ended up using the other buck that I have. Did someone say before that parsley was good for improving fertility?

The 'withered' part was the scrotum, the skin that holds the testicles. Rabbits can draw their testicles up in to their body at will, so likely he just did not have them "hanging out". There is no way for you to look at a buck's testicles and know he is sterile....unless he does not HAVE any...that is a pretty clear indicator! LOL