# Udder growth



## tiny_tam (Apr 28, 2011)

Hi there. Great forum. Great to find information dedicated specifically to goats!

Just noticed my new nanny has an unusual growth on one of her udders which looks like an additional smaller teat. I can't find anything like it on google. She isn't in pain or unwell. She's a little feral so it's the first time she's let me have a good look so maybe it's been there all along. She's not in milk so it's not an issue if it is not a health risk to her.

Click to see udder photo

Anyone have any ideas?


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## 20kidsonhill (Apr 28, 2011)

Can't view picture.


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## tiny_tam (Apr 28, 2011)

Try now - thank you


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## 20kidsonhill (Apr 28, 2011)

If it isn't scabby feeling, it is just that, an extra teat, can't really tell if someone tried to cut it off when she was little so it left a small scare, some people do that, but if it feels scabby then it is more like a wart, staph infection, or sore mouth on her udder.  

How old is she, What breed is she?


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## elevan (Apr 28, 2011)

Search of supernumerary teats - this should answer your questions


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## tiny_tam (Apr 28, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> How old is she, What breed is she?


4 year old alpine/des fosss cross (des fosss is a French smallholder breed)
Doesn't seem scabby at all - an extra teat is looking a likely answer - many thanks for your quick replies!


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## aggieterpkatie (Apr 28, 2011)

I know you said you dont' know if it's new or has been there all along, but keep an eye on it.  It's hard to tell in the pic, but it looks like it could be a staph bump.


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## 20kidsonhill (Apr 28, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I know you said you dont' know if it's new or has been there all along, but keep an eye on it.  It's hard to tell in the pic, but it looks like it could be a staph bump.


good point a staph bump wouldn't be scabby at first, but would change over time, if it makes no changes it is probably an extra teat.


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## helmstead (Apr 28, 2011)

Looks like a teat spur to me.


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## Ariel301 (Apr 28, 2011)

helmstead said:
			
		

> Looks like a teat spur to me.


Me too.


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## tiny_tam (Apr 29, 2011)

Thank you all for your advice. I looked up teat spur and that is looking very like it but I'll keep an eye on it in case it is a staph bump.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Apr 29, 2011)

Staph bump wouldn't have been my first guess either, but it would be a good idea to watch for changes.  On an unrelated note, I'd love to see a larger pic of the goat in your avatar!  What a gorgeous color.


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## tiny_tam (May 1, 2011)

Thank you - they are both lovely goats.

Sacha and Merksi's photo album is on Picasa
View album. Sacha is Marron Charbonn - brown with black eel stripe. Merksi is dark brown with tan markings on legs, tummy and above eyes.


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jun 11, 2011)

I've been told that one of my new goats has a teat spur, and I'm wondering if it will be passed on to her offspring?


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## Roll farms (Jun 12, 2011)

It could be, and IMHO, it's a cull factor in dairy breeds.


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jul 8, 2011)

After doing a lot of reading (so far all just folks' opinions, no research) I found out that most folks agree that it is usually genetically passed on, but sometimes it appears out of the clear blue. Apparently it is so with this doe (appearing out of the clear blue). I need to look for some actual research to see if it is a recessive gene. I really like her so I am inclined to keep her and just watch very carefully her offspring and the next couple generations following.

ETA: Her one kid so far (a buckling) doesn't have one.


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jul 8, 2011)

I found this information http://www.myotonicgoatregistry.net/ArticlesAndReferences/MGRGoatDefects/MGRGoatDefects.html . Still only someones opinion and from a non dairy breeder but interesting nonetheless.

"Multiple teats and teat spurs are controversial in goats and have different significance in different goat breeds. Breeders of dairy goats penalize these variations very heavily. Many meat goat breeders totally ignore the issue.

Multiple teats are just that - an extra teat or two, which may or may not connect to functional mammary tissue. Many of them do not connect to milk producing portions of the udder - so they are pretty useless to a kid that latches on to one. Teat spurs are smaller structures, usually nonfunctional, that branch off of a main, functional teat.

The importance of these variations in dairy goats is that they can make milking tough or impossible. For other goats, the main significance is that kids can initially be confused about which one to suckle to get the life-giving colostrum. In severe cases, multiple teats and teat spurs can be numerous enough to impair the kid latching on and getting a full share of milk.

The genetics behind multiple teats/spurs is not straightforward. It seems to be a situation of several genes each contributing some to the final appearance of the udder. This is much different than the way single dominant or single recessive genes go through a herd - and is much more difficult to predict and control. There is no easy answer.

In my own experience, the inheritance of the multiple or spurred teats is indeed complicated. I have had a few does with these. Out of several kids that these does produced, only one had the same defect. Does with teat spurs were always mated to bucks with normal conformation. Alternatively, a very excellent doe I have - with correct teat conformation - has produced four drop dead gorgeous four teated bucks! This doe has correct teats, her dam has correct teats, and her grand dam had correct teats. The genetic control of this characteristic is complicated!

The question becomes "what to do?" and that can be broken down to "as a breed" but also to "as an individual breeder." Extra teats and teat spurs are defects, but are not incredibly important for non-dairy goats. It is prudent to decrease the frequency of these teat defects, but not at the expense of completely eliminating otherwise good breeding stock. Some people will disagree with this philosophy, which is fine.

As an individual breeder it does not bother me to use the occasional multiple teated or spurred does or bucks. Such an animal would have to offer me something else pretty special, and I would certainly be open about the teat conformation of any doe or her ancestors to any customer! Breeders vary widely in their acceptance of this defect - and breeders who desire completely clean pedigrees should ask about the teat conformation of ancestors of goats they are considering buying. I do think that only superior animals with these defects should be used, and that only normal-teated offspring (both does and bucks) should be retained from does with these defects.

Obviously, if a multiple or spur teated doe has a doeling offspring with a similar defect, then this is a tougher call. I would only use such an animal for very specific purposes, and would probably try to avoid linebreeding with such an animal. I am personally willing to use animals that I would not necessarily sell as purebred breeding stock, usually on a limited experimental basis. This is an individual decision, and others could well arrive at a different conclusion. I personally have used and will continue to use a small number of multiple or spur teated does. My goal is to retain normal offspring from these in an effort to not lose the other good traits those does have.

This is a controversial defect, and some breeders may find my approach somewhat casual and horrifying. Another extreme view would be that all multiple teated and spurred animals should be sold only as pets. Different philosophies are actually healthy for a breed and its breeders. I do not ignore the defect, and work to diminish its severity and its frequency. At the same time, in most goats with the defect it is a minor problem that does not interfere with function, and goats that are otherwise excellent have much to offer the breed as well as my own herd."

ETA: I found this  article VERY interesting especially when they start discussing the possibility of some of them being envirnmental not genetic.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Jul 8, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> It could be, and IMHO, it's a cull factor in dairy breeds.


x 2.  I would pull papers and sell her as a pet if she were mine.


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## AlaskanShepherdess (Jul 8, 2011)

Pull papers?


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