Table 1.

Prevalence (%) of rams with alterations and suitability of rams for breeding according to age (n = 774)

Body area	Lesions severity	12 – 24 months (n = 153)	24 – 72 months (n = 490)	≥72 months (n = 131)	TOTAL
Head, neck and trunk	None	75.8a	64.5b	41.2c	62.8
	Mild	22.2	32.2	34.4	30.6
	Severe	2.0a	3.3a	24.4b	6.6
Prognathism	None	98.0a	91.6b	84.7b	91.7
	Mild	2.0a	7.3a	14.5b	7.5
	Severe	0.0d	1.0	0.8	0.8
Limbs	None	93.5a	86.9a	64.9b	84.5
	Mild	5.9a	11.4a	25.2b	12.7
	Severe	0.7a	1.6a	9.9b	2.8
Leg conformation	None	100.0	99.0a	93.9b	98.3
	Mild	0.0d	1.0a	3.8b	1.3
	Severe	0.0d	0.0d	2.3	0.4
Genitals	None	78.4a	68.0b	58.0b	68.3
	Mild	15.7	22.2	24.4	21.3
	Severe	5.9a	9.8a	16.6b	10.3
Testicles	None	96.7	94.9	91.6	94.7
	Yes	3.3	5.1	8.4	5.3
Posthitis	None	91.5a	81.0b	71.0c	81.4
	Mild	7.8a	15.7b	22.1b	15.3
	Severe	0.7a	3.3a	6.9b	3.4
Glans	None	95.4	95.9	96.9	96.0
	Mild	3.3	2.9	3.1	3.0
	Severe	1.3	1.2	0.0d	1.0
Rams with any alterations	None	54.2a	40.0b	19.8c	39.4
	Mild	37.9	46.1	38.9	43.3
	Severe	7.8a	13.9a	41.3b	17.3
Previous disease	None	87.6a	60.2b	30.5c	60.6
	Yes	12.4a	39.8b	69.5c	39.4
BSE	Suitable	92.2a	86.1a	62.6b	83.3
	Unsuitable	7.9a	13.8a	37.4b	16.7

^a,b,cMeans in the same row with different superscripts differ significantly p < 0.05

^dThis category is not used for multiple comparison because the proportion is equal to zero