Another newbie question

[tltater]

Ok, I know it is completely out of the norm for a goat to have four teats. The lady I am buying my pygmy from just took back one of hers from someone who wasn't taking care of her right. She is so sweet! If the woman wouldn't have told me she was pregnant I wouldn't have even known and to top it off she looks like it could be within the week. So in other words she is malnurished...hopefully baby will be ok. She was showing me her signs of being close to birthing and of course showed me her udder(first kidding) I notice she has four teats. Can you milk a goat with four teats? Has anyone tried this with/without success?

Thanks,
Tracy

You can milk a goat with four teats. The trouble tends to be that they develop mastitis more often than other goats. You have to be certain that they are being totally milked out and use really good sanitation practices. Be sure that all of the teats are in working condition. Probably should have the vet check her out to be sure. Keep an eye on them.

But seriously, if she is that malnurished, it may be better to just let her nurse her babies and then dry her up. Give her some time to recouperate and get back up to weight and then breed her the next year.

Be sure to get her wormed, give her a BoSe shot and make sure to get her diet worked up *slowly* or you can kill her with the better feed/hay.

Good luck, but don't worry about the extra teats too much unless you're hoping to show (you can't...she'd be disqualified). If any of them are not working you can have them removed, too.

Also keep in mind that her doelings may also be susceptible to the same thing - more than two teats...

-Sarah J, not logged in

[tltater]

Thank you so much for your reply. I have been trying to find some good info on this and just couldn't. I am not going to be showing. Just milking and having fun with them. I will be sure to have her checked out completely and start all the worming and vaccs. Thanks again!

Tracy

[TexCountryWoman]

It's not uncommon for Boer meat goats to have four teats. Could your goat be part Boer? Also, in my reading on Boer goats awhile back, I came across some info on four-teated does and it said that removal of the extra teats could cause fissures and leakage unless there was already a problem. I have no experience with any of this personally. Just thought I would pass this on.

[BrushBuster]

actually in a boer, it is considered a fault if they don't have 4 usable tits. it's not all that uncommon for them to have 3 or more at a time and raise them. it's also not uncommon for them to be bad mothers either. if they are good mothers several is usually not a problem. if not, even 1 will probably have to be raised on a bottle.