Has anyone ever had any luck milking a double teated goat?

I have heard that if the smaller teat has no milk coming out of it, you can band it off?

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 07, 2002

Answers

Do you mean that the goat has two PAIRS? um, we milk both the teats- there are only two (singles). and both can be milked at the same time once you get the hang of it. And both teats produce about the same amount of milk.

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), February 08, 2002.

I was told that when goats or sheep have two pairs of teats that means they are more apt to have multiple births. Terry

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), February 08, 2002.

Yes two pairs.....which have as far as I know, have always been referred to as "double teats"---double the usual number. Four rather than two.

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 08, 2002.

I wouldn't doubt that she will have a multiple birth, cause she is huge!!! I could actually see the babie(s) moving around up by her backbone.

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 08, 2002.

Tracy you have to be very careful banding or cutting off extra teats. You can't cut it off if the teat has a hole (orifice) in it. If you do cut it off it will leak milk and drain the udder. A very well known story in Boer, is the breeder who cut off the extra teats, sold the doe, only to be bad mouthed all over the internet, not only for lying about cutting off the teats and selling this doe as having 1 teat on each side, but .....:) for cutting off the wrong teats, leaving the doe with two teats but no orifice for the milk to come out! Damn!!

And now my dairy side just has to say, this is a genetic fault. Boer folks can talk circles around the issue all they want, but it is a genetic fault. There are just to many nice does with two teats, one on each side to milk, to breed with, to put up with that and to perpetuate a genetic fault. First it was does with wattles made more milk, now its goats with extra teats have more kids? Snicker snicker.. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 08, 2002.

Hi Vicki,

Thanks for the info, I knew that you couldn't cut them off if they were in fact producing milk....I imagine these probably will, as they are pretty large.

These were the wild does that I got and have worked on taming down....the breeders told me they had checked for double teats when they caught them for my hubby to pick up At least I only bartered for them, so I am not really out any cash.

The breeder just told met that they did milk one with double teats, but that it was a pain to do.

I guess I just wait and see how it goes. I imagine I will be buying one more doe than I thought.

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 08, 2002.

Vicki, multiple (pairs of) teats are not necessarily bad. Look at cows (or rats) as an example. OK, on second thought, don't look at rats - multiple pairs for them are quite functional, but bad - for us.

Fact is, Alexander Graham Bell (yes - that one - polymath and pretty much of a Renaissance man) - kept sheep. He did some quite rigourous research, and for the sheep he kept multiples pairs of teats correlated strongly with multiple births. Turns out, though, that this does not apply to all sheep, let alone all animals.

I don't know if this proves anything at all, other than that "you never can tell". Also that it was true once. But we sure know that you're pushing it if you try to extrapolate from one situation in one genus to another in another.

But it did happen once.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 08, 2002.

I understand where you are coming from Don. I would have a lot less problems with this if the hard facts weren't that dairy goats with extra teats come from missmanaged, and yes I am a snob, breedings. The ONLY reason it is exceptable for extra teats in Boer is because they were worth to much money in the beginning for anyone to cull for this reason. So the fault has been perpetuated. The extra teat thing with multiple births is just a convienent myth to give reason for them, look at pigs, you want them to have multiple teats, the more the better because the more pigs they can nurse, but it doesn't mean an 8 teated sow own't have 10 babies. You have udder halves in goats not quarters. Who cares what meat animals have who nurse meat kids as long as they have something for the babies to latch onto. But for stock you want to milk, two teats, with a single orifice in each one please!

Tracey you can eaisly tell by rolling the teat between your fingers and looking at the end if the extra teats have orifices in them, you can tell on an infant. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 08, 2002.

4 teats are ok on Boer goats....

because....

no talking circles....just the facts....

They are NOT Dairy goats!!! they are MEAT goats :) and who cares!

now if you find 3 or 4 teats on an Alpine, Nubian, Nigerian Dwarf or Pygmy to name a few, that is a BIG no no! they are dairy goats!

Boer goats were specifically bred one purpose and it wasn't to be a dairy goat.

-- Lurky Lu (lurkyly@yahoo.com), February 08, 2002.

These are not full Boer does....they are half Nubian. Obviously those double teats tend to be dominate?

Regardless if they are supposed to be dairy goats or not, they are gonna get milked!

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 08, 2002.

Vicki, thanks for the story about the Boer breeder cutting off the wrong teats! It made me laugh!! Served him right for being dishonest.

Now, if extra teats lead to extra babies, then can someone please explain to me why cattles have four but usually no more than twin births, while goats have two teats but can have quads, quints, even sextuplets??

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 08, 2002.

I have bred dairy goats for 22 years and, regardless of possible correlations in sheep, the number of teats a doe has is in no way related to a predispositon to multiple births. I did once milk a doe with extra teats and it was an awkward and sticky project.I would have a veterinarian remove the teat if you must. You should be carefull when choosing a buck to ensure he does not carry the gene.[theory is that it has to be on both sides] I would raise any kids with extra teats for butcher only. Good luck.

-- Kacy (kcjp@earthlink.net), February 12, 2002.