# Question about "fish teats"



## eatdairy (Dec 2, 2012)

I Am new to raising boer goats. Decided to purchase 3 does for breeding a month ago. I noticed that one of the does has fish teats. Should I bother breeding her or should I just sell her for meat?


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

There's a teat chart on the ABGA website. (American Boer Goat Association)
Are you sure they are fish and not just split?
I have a % doe with one split. It is not a DQ.
Can you post a pic?


----------



## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

Depending on the split and what you plan on using her for, it may be fine as it is. You could also remove the extra teat (notify potential buyers if you do), which is only recommended if you really want to breed her and ONLY if a kid can't nurse from it. I have a doe with a fishtail, and as they fill, it's looking more and more like it won't be a problem.


----------



## NavaBoerFarm (Dec 15, 2012)

I have a fullblood boer doe we've had for 6 years she has one side fish and only once has she produced a kid with double teats but it didn't matter as he was weathered. I read somewhere that it could be a recessive gene and depending on your buck you may never or rarely get kids with double teats. I hope this helped. We've never had trouble with our doe feeding her kids.


----------



## eatdairy (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks for the abga site suggestion. She does not have fish teats. She has "split" teats like picture 8. Will she be able to nurse with these?


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Feb 28, 2011)

If the split goes almost to the base, that is good. She should be able to nurse just fine. But when she kids you want to make sure the kid is on the functioning teat and doesn't get on the front part of the split which could be non-functioning. As her udder fills in, if the front part of the split is non functioning(nor orifice) it will get smaller than the back part of the split, which is the main teat. If both parts are functioning that could actually possibly help a triplet kid nurse.


----------

