Deformed Teats

[Croenan]

I have a doe that will kid soon, and we noticed that not only one, but both of her teats are deformed! Oh My! They have 2 nipples each, the second nipple hanging above the other quite a bit. If they give milk, I think a baby might baby able to work them. Anyone have ideas or experiences? Can I get goat colostrum anywhere....if I can get any milk out of her when she kids and the babies can't, I should be able to milk her for some colostrum. She's just a pet, and we didn't mean for her to get preggers.....We've GOT to get that boy fixed! He doesn't keep his pants on.

[mpillow]

Pretty sure if you can get milk then the babies will be able to get milk too....you can check this right now if she is near term. If you get a sqiurt then you can just leave babies on their mom. Unless you really want to milk and bottle feed.

You can get powdered colostrum (usually bovine) at feed store but Hoeggers and Jeffers (online) do carry goat colostrum.

[mammawof3]

Originally Posted by Croenan

I have a doe that will kid soon, and we noticed that not only one, but both of her teats are deformed! Oh My! They have 2 nipples each, the second nipple hanging above the other quite a bit. If they give milk, I think a baby might baby able to work them. Anyone have ideas or experiences? Can I get goat colostrum anywhere....if I can get any milk out of her when she kids and the babies can't, I should be able to milk her for some colostrum. She's just a pet, and we didn't mean for her to get preggers.....We've GOT to get that boy fixed! He doesn't keep his pants on.

those are "teat spurs", in dairy goats we try to breed them out, some people nip them off when the doe is a kid.if they are seperate from the teat, if actually part of the teat, then nipping could very well cause a hole in the actual teat, the actual teats should still milk fine, and not cause a problem with kids sucking ability..alot of boer goats still have those,must be a throw back from when all goats actually had 4 teats,like a cow-at some point in time,the genes for only two teats became dominate(or selected over many generations)..my opinion..why else would we keep seeing 4, now and then? Anyone know about that? Yes, you will need to castrate your buck, or you will keep having kids..they won't listen too you,about--birth control---

[SilverVista]

must be a throw back from when all goats actually had 4 teats,like a cow-

And probably the same reasoning for the cows we occasionally see with 6, 7 or even 8 teats -- usually 6, and usually in the beef breeds. My goodness, were they all originally intended to litter like pigs? :haha:

[hoggfan]

I've got a couple of boar does with small extra nipples as you described and they nurse their young fine so dont worry. I've even got one doe with quads and I've seen all four nursing at once. I'm probably going to have to get her some nerve pills before she gets them all raised. K.C.

[bethlaf]

multiple teated goats are a trait that happens in some lines, boers are famous for it, its indiscriminate breeding
as of now with the amount of blood runing through her mammary system clipping is not safe,
HOWEVER
your doe should not be allowed to breed again , UNLESS you are going to keep ALL her offspring, male and female out of the gene pool , in other words raising them for meat, not even for the pet market, a lot of "pet" goats end up bred goats ... so yes, birht control for your buck , and no more man troubles for your doe

this is a tremendous responsibility,
i see a lot of goats end up at auction with multiple teats, mainly boers but a LOT pygmys too ...
i wonder too why it keeps cropping up , i have heard that it was a strong trait in some of the boer buck lines originally imported, and was simply never bred out, since they are mostly eaten anyhow, but it does put a put a damper on selectign does for future breedings

im kind of strong on this one, and have talked to many meat breeders about it , but most dont care, or choose to do nothing about it, which is a shame, i thik responsible breeding , no matter what the final market is for an animal is part of our responsibility as breeders

a "blind teat" one that doesnt give milk can be removed in a young kid
a Split teat, where both ends gives milk must be left alone,
on an adult doe the only person who should be messing with either type is a vet.
theres a lot of potential harm in that mammary gland area, and even still unless its truly a blindteat , most vets wont touch it ...

Beth