Palpating Question

So it's my first time trying to breed and I have a question. About a week ago, I palpated my female pastel and thought I felt 4 bumps (more like small, firm marbles). I palpated again yesterday to see if I still felt 4 and instead, I didn't feel a thing. Was I feeling something else??? Any advice is much appreciated!

It was propably their muscles you felt as they moved!

It is possible that you felt the follicles the first time, and she was more tense, or you didn't apply enough pressure the second time. However, it is also possible that you felt urates the first time. However, urates are usually not felt as being round, and follicles are nearly perfect spheres. The more you do it, the better you will get at differentiating follicles from urates.

The only other answer that it could be is that she started to reabsorb the follicles, and they have shrunk below 20 mm, and you can't feel them anymore. However, being that you felt follicles? in the last 7-10 days, they usually won't shrink that fast.

I hope that helps,

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Originally Posted by muddoc

It is possible that you felt the follicles the first time, and she was more tense, or you didn't apply enough pressure the second time. However, it is also possible that you felt urates the first time. However, urates are usually not felt as being round, and follicles are nearly perfect spheres. The more you do it, the better you will get at differentiating follicles from urates.

The only other answer that it could be is that she started to reabsorb the follicles, and they have shrunk below 20 mm, and you can't feel them anymore. However, being that you felt follicles? in the last 7-10 days, they usually won't shrink that fast.

I hope that helps,

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Once follicles are close to 20mm and they have been with a male a few times...How far off is an ovulation (normally).

Thanks for the advice. I really don't think they were urinates, but I guess I could be wrong. They felt dead on a bunch of marbles about in the middle of her lower half of her body. I have been pairing her up with my male bee for the few weeks before I last palpated, then my bee went into a shed cycle, so they have been apart for about 8 days now. Is it possible she began to develop the follicles, then when she didn't see her boyfriend for over a week, she absorbed them?

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Originally Posted by demjor19

Once follicles are close to 20mm and they have been with a male a few times...How far off is an ovulation (normally).

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Typically follicles will grow about 4mm per week, and females tend to ovulate around 40 - 44 mm. That would mean about 5-6 weeks from now. However, I have had females that just take a developemental break between 26 and 30 mm. They may stop growing for as long as 8 weeks. So, with that said, there is no strict formula to follow. They ovulate when they ovulate.

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Originally Posted by cschneider

Thanks for the advice. I really don't think they were urinates, but I guess I could be wrong. They felt dead on a bunch of marbles about in the middle of her lower half of her body. I have been pairing her up with my male bee for the few weeks before I last palpated, then my bee went into a shed cycle, so they have been apart for about 8 days now. Is it possible she began to develop the follicles, then when she didn't see her boyfriend for over a week, she absorbed them?

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As I stated in my previous post, follicles do not typically shrink that fast. If they did, you would see very few breeders capable of getting one male to produce more than one or two clutches a year, because he couldn't see the females fast enoug to keep them developing.