# Underbite?



## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Wondering if this doe has an underbite or if it's normal. I bought her for breeding/showing, and she is hopefully bred, so hoping her bite is OK.


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

I really don't know...but I can tell you my goat's mouths look like that....


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Bump.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

She does look like she has a slight underbite.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Sigh.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

It doesn't look that bad in the picture. No perfect animal exists.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

I was planning on showing her.... Even the 4-H judges are really thorough when it comes to the little things on a goat. What are the chances it'll pass down to kids or grandkids?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You will have to see. It certainly can be passed down.


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## HerdQueen (Oct 15, 2012)

What does her muzzle look like naturally?


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Here is a photo, not taken by me. Hopefully it shows it ok. If not I might have another to show it..


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

In the head shot it almost looks like she was an overbite... she does have a slight underbite, but also appears to be a little older which can be why she is off now. The front view looks like she is not wearing her teeth evenly, you might find a good vet and have them look at her back teeth, it could be she has a hook back there preventing her from aligning her jaw correctly.

How does she eat? Does she drop a lot of food?

Usually with dairy goats, at least at ADGA shows, the judges don't look at their teeth.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

ptgoats45 said:


> In the head shot it almost looks like she was an overbite... she does have a slight underbite, but also appears to be a little older which can be why she is off now. The front view looks like she is not wearing her teeth evenly, you might find a good vet and have them look at her back teeth, it could be she has a hook back there preventing her from aligning her jaw correctly.
> 
> How does she eat? Does she drop a lot of food?
> 
> Usually with dairy goats, at least at ADGA shows, the judges don't look at their teeth.


She is only three. I thought that their teeth started getting wacky (if they do) at 5+? I have a 10 almost 11 year old doe who has perfect teeth.

She seems to eat fine, maybe drops some grain, but it seems like they all do that. Tonight when I give them their grain I will look closer.

She is thin, but was nursing triplets up until a few weeks ago. I have her on sunflower oil for a fat supplement so she can gain some weight before winter really hits.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Her bite does look off, not hugely but off. As she gets older, it might make it hard to keep weight on her or it might be slight enough that it won't bother her.

Breeding her to a buck with a good solid bite will give her kids a good chance of having a good bite.


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## HerdQueen (Oct 15, 2012)

I agree lottsagoats. 

How did her kids turn out?


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

I've seen pictures, and they seem fine, but they aren't focusing on their bites so it's hard to tell. There are some pictures of her kids on my website, on her page.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I don't think you'll have any issue showing her Sydney. I think you might be a tad too concerned about it.  :hug: To me, I see maybe a slight underbite. It's not very noticeable and without opening her mouth, you wouldn't notice anything unusual. I also don't think it's going to cause her any issues in the long run. Like Karen said, no animal is perfect. 

I also have yet to see an ADGA judge check the bite on a goat.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

KW Farms said:


> I don't think you'll have any issue showing her Sydney. I think you might be a tad too concerned about it.  :hug: To me, I see maybe a slight underbite. It's not very noticeable and without opening her mouth, you wouldn't notice anything unusual. I also don't think it's going to cause her any issues in the long run. Like Karen said, no animal is perfect.
> 
> I also have yet to see an ADGA judge check the bite on a goat.


You're right, I probably am.  I was googling underbites in goats, and what I was finding led me to believe that she would place last in every class I enter her in. Those were older posts, so things are different now at shows I guess. And you're right, it's not sure noticeable, I think it's kinda cute  The buck she is bred to does have a good solid bite, so we'll see what her kids' bites turn out like.

Thanks guys.


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## ArborGoats (Jan 24, 2013)

I see a goat who is chewing on one side of her mouth predominantly. In the photo she doesn't look like she has an underbite. Furthermore it looks like half of her incisor teeth have been worn to at a "normal" plane, but her right side is not being ground down as she grazes and eats. My first thoughts would be hook on molars or maybe an ulcer on the interior of the cheek on that side...


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## Jodi_berg (Oct 29, 2012)

I'm no help with goat specs but I think she's very pretty and I love the little goat t coming in!


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

If it helps any... one year the reserve national champion Nubian had a very obvious overbite....


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

ADGA is not as discriminate against overbites, and underbites, like ABGA is. With ADGA, as long as it's not severe enough to be extremely obvious, and they show no signs of having trouble keeping weight on, the judges normally look the other way.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

ptgoats45 said:


> If it helps any... one year the reserve national champion Nubian had a very obvious overbite....


I have heard that over/underbites are more common in Nubians though? But that is really interesting.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Little-Bits-N-Pieces said:


> ADGA is not as discriminate against overbites, and underbites, like ABGA is. With ADGA, as long as it's not severe enough to be extremely obvious, and they show no signs of having trouble keeping weight on, the judges normally look the other way.


Cool :thumb:


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