Extra teats

[widfam]

My heifer is finally bred and starting to bag up I noticed that she has 2 extra small teats behind the main four teats. Is there going to be any problems with them? Someone on the goat forum said that in goats they cull ones with extra teats and that if a cow has them that constintly drip milk. Anyone have that problem? They are pretty small but definitely there.

Don't worry about them. Lots of cows have them, and they rarely cause a problem. The only time you would have a problem is if they are the same size as the normal teats. They may or may not produce a small amount of milk. Some people will remove them when the calf is young, we have before, but we don't any longer.

[jerzeygurl]

one of th cows im milking has them, they are high up and dont have milk, they dont interfere in anyway in our case.

[Vere My Sone]

my jersey has one, in the middle, between front and back, doesn't have milk, is not a problem

[ozark_jewels]

Its generally not a problem. I wouldn't remove them. I always check bulls for them, as it is something I want to avoid breeding into my cows. But its not nearly the problem it can be in dairy goats. Its much more common in cattle than it is in dairy goats.

[JeffNY]

Shouldn't cause problems. I have them removed for cosmetic purposes. Some are small enough, when she bags they will look like extra skin and nothing more.



Jeff

[Christina R.]

I think you are not really talking about extra teats. When I had my first heifer I noticed them wehn she started bagging up and freaked wondering how I would not have noticed them after all the time I had her. I posted here and I think it was up north, uncle will in in., or haggis that said they are non useable teats left over from ancestors long gone (I'm trying to avoid the word evolution). I guess a micro adaptation over the thousands of years of time.

I tried finding the post, but it must have disappeared in the big crash last year. Bottom line, they aren't really extra teats. If you look at the backside of every udder you will see those two little knobs or buttons or whatever you want to call them.

[JeffNY]

It actually wouldn't be evolution, or the natural process of evolution. More like, we bred it out a long time ago. But in a way it is evolution, just not natural.


Jeff

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by Christina R.

Bottom line, they aren't really extra teats. If you look at the backside of every udder you will see those two little knobs or buttons or whatever you want to call them.

I've been freshening hiefers and cows for 17 years and have never had this on any of them.
My extra teat experience comes from milking at several commercial dairies.

[Tad]

It happens some times. If we notice them as little calves you can nip them with hoof nippers, but now I would leave them alone. They shouldn't cause a problem

[farmerdan]

My vet snipped them off the same time he dehorned them as calves.

[francismilker]

It's fairly common for cattle to have them and the only time I've messed with them in the past is if I was selling a heifer to someone for 4-H showing purposes. If they do drip any milk after freshening, it should be very little. Happy Milking!