# 1goat + ?babys = 4 teats?



## Zero (May 9, 2010)

One of the goats I just got is carrying but we dont know how many she is carrying. Upon cleaning the table they just on off I noticed she had 4 tits. 2 are the normal sized looking but the other two are infront of the bigger ones and are on the small side

Does this mean she is going to have more then two babys or is this do to a bad breeding?I didnt notice them until today.

please note we didnt breed them we saved them and they were already breed. They would have most likely ended up in the slaughter house. We are not sure when they are going to have kids sometime between this month and the next


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: 1goat + ?babys = 4 tits?*

They look to be Nigerian Dwarf.....and yes, the number of teats are due to a genetic fault, it is not a trait that is wanted or desired. Teat number should never exceed two with the exception of a meat breed such as Boers.
The number of teats does not mean she'll have more than 2 kids, I've been present at 2 births where the doe delivered quads and has a gorgeous 2 teated udder.

If these were "rescued" from an auction, they were likely there because of the fault with the teats and couldn't be sold as pets.


----------



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

*Re: 1goat + ?babys = 4 tits?*

They are pretty girls! How lucky they were saved. I feel bad for animals that are headed to slaughter, but that is part of life. However I don't agree with the fact people would send off pregnant animals. It's just not right IMO.



liz said:


> They look to be Nigerian Dwarf.....and yes, the number of teats are due to a genetic fault, it is not a trait that is wanted or desired. Teat number should never exceed two with the exception of a meat breed such as Boers.
> The number of teats does not mean she'll have more than 2 kids, I've been present at 2 births where the doe delivered quads and has a gorgeous 2 teated udder.
> 
> If these were "rescued" from an auction, they were likely there because of the fault with the teats and couldn't be sold as pets.


Curious after reading your post, what is acceptable in boers?


----------



## farmergal (Jun 19, 2009)

*Re: 1goat + ?babys = 4 tits?*

btw... the word you want to use is 'teats' not 't*ts'... the second one being, you know, what dudes talk about while watching Baywatch... :wink: 
hope you don't think I'm rude, I don't usually correct people but that's the sort of thing that could get a person in trouble!


----------



## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

*Re: 1goat + ?babys = 4 tits?*

They look like they have some nigerian in them, but they very well could be half or a quarter boer. It is not terribly uncommon to see some boers with four teats which is acceptable in the breed, only breed that allows that. Having four does not tell you anything about the number of kids they will have, the two smaller teats likely won't be milked from by any kids and if they are there probably won't be a lot of milk out of them. If they are just pets than nothing to worry about, the kids may have four or fish teats, etc. though.


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: 1goat + ?babys = 4 tits?*

Now that the proper word has been clarified and I am positive that the post made was not intended to be in an offensive manner :wink: , we'd love to see the babies when they arrive, the udder on both does is too large for them to be early into their pregnancy, my guess would be that they'll be showing you what and how many are in there around the end of this month or the middle of next.

As Kylee said, with Boers up to 4 teats are acceptable with all four functional or not, at least 2 need to be functional.


----------



## cmjust0 (Oct 8, 2009)

Everybody in my family calls teats "tits" and they're longtime hardcore churchgoers. To them, the word "teat" is a little....dandy? Fancy? You get what I'm saying.. lol

Anyway, totally genetic. As for Boers, lots have multiple "supernumerary" teats (love that word..just means "extra".. lol) which may or may not even be connected to their own chamber in the udder. Sometimes, it's just two teats that milk out the same side, other times, you may have extra chambers..

Depending on where the teat's placed, whether it interferes with a known-good teat, whether it has it's own chamber, and whether or not it's something the kids can and will milk, it may or may not be any problem at all.. 

Personally...even in Boers, I'm not a fan of extra teats. 

I'm a fan of goats, though, and yours are pretty and look quite good.


----------



## Mully (Jun 23, 2009)

The other title was more fun...I know it raised eyebrows but so what ...it was funny.


----------



## farmergal (Jun 19, 2009)

cmjust -- where are you from? just curious... I totally believe you but around here I just can't imagine anyone using that word in place of teat... because it's usually used in... how should I say this... the slang people version of "udders and rumps"? and always macho guys sizing up chicks...

it's so interesting how language changes around the country, and of course by individual family too


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Good point Farmergal about language around the country!
The correct term IS teats no matter what you call them. :greengrin: 
Some of my Boers have 4 teats. One doe had all 4 working as well as one of her daughters. One doe with 4 only 2 working.
Kids figure out real quick which ones dont function.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> Personally...even in Boers, I'm not a fan of extra teats.


 I myself.. like 2x2 clean ...and it is accepted now by the associations and is accepted as show quality...... I personally rather have 2x2 clean as sometimes ...they have trips...and my does with 1x1 clean....tend to have the babies fight over the teats.... in which ...the teat or teats.. gets raw and sore...from 3 fighting over them...because the kids teeth cut into her...  .. my Does have no problems... with giving enough milk.... it ithe simple fact... that when you have 3 or more kids on a 1x1 clean teated doe....there are not enough plates to go around.... :wink:


----------



## Bellafire Farm (Jan 5, 2010)

For a Nigerian, two teats is the ONLY acceptable way. (Purebred Nigerian) Additional teats means NO registration & NO showing. For pets, it wouldn't matter...but I personally would not breed a Nigerian that had anything more than two teats, as you would just be propagating a serious defect. 
They look like beautiful girls, looks like you've taken good care of them, so just sell the babies as pets only (wether all boys for sure & stress that the baby girls NOT be used for breeding), and then you can enjoy your pet girls for all the love & fun they bring!  There is nothing wrong with that.


----------



## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

Around this part of the country I'd get raised eyebrows for sure saying "tits" versus teats. I just say nipples.  I think the poster just had a typo, though, because the subject line used teats. Interestingly, even some humans have supernumerary glands (male and female). A lot of times they are mistaken for moles. 
We have boers and boer/kiko crosses. I think right now we have an even split between 2 teats and 4 teats, though the kiko cross does are the ones with the 2:2. Our boer buckling has 2:2 so that should change tip the scale next spring. My prego doe has 1:1 teats but a spur off the left teat. I think of it as a fishing lure to distract a third kid long enough for two to eat. :laugh:
I guess if they aren't in the show ring and extra teats aren't enough of a distraction that the kids don't get enough to eat, it shouldn't be a problem. If pregos kids have an issue with her spur, I will have our vet remove it.


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I say it and due to the reaction it caused, I edited the "subject" line in the Topic....I am sure that Zero did not mean to cause such a fuss over the way it was worded, he asked a very good question and was expecting an answer, those new to goats or any animal with an udder do not always know the correct name for "parts".

I agree with you Traci...teats as well as udders are a very important part of the characteristics of any Dairy goat, extra teats are ok with pets given the fact that they wouldn't be bred to pass the fault on.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with Liz..... :thumb: 

We are all here ...to teach goatie stuff.....to help with the proper way to pronounce body stuffs ect ...but is there really a proper way.... :scratch: ........ sometimes it sounds a little odd to hear... the way that some other area's... in the world pronouce or even name things different.... a good example is Australia....they have different meanings for certain things about a goat.... I believe "Keren's" term for what we call a weanling... was weaner ... :laugh: if I am wrong... please correct me... :wink: .LOL .... :thumb:


----------



## cmjust0 (Oct 8, 2009)

farmergal said:


> cmjust -- where are you from? just curious... I totally believe you but around here I just can't imagine anyone using that word in place of teat... because it's usually used in... how should I say this... the slang people version of "udders and rumps"? and always macho guys sizing up chicks...
> 
> it's so interesting how language changes around the country, and of course by individual family too


I'm an Appalachian American.


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

LOL.... I'm what my dad called a "Ridge Runner"....about as backwoods in Eastern PA as you can get!


----------



## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

lol yes, our weanlings are 'weaners'

incidently, though the correct term is teats and many people say it here, lots of people, particularly old dairy farmers, use the slang term of t-ts ... similar to people saying 'bag' instead of udder.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> lol yes, our weanlings are 'weaners'


 HeHe ...see... I was paying attention... :thumb: :laugh:


----------



## Zero (May 9, 2010)

oh wow leave for a little bit and get a bunch of posts.

Sorry about this wording mess up. Truely did not know that there was a big deal about which word I use. I know in the dog world people really dont care which you use so long as they know what you are talking about. Sorry if I upset anyone I did debate which word I used but just thought it really didnt matter and it wouldnt stir up much of a problem.


We did not breed these goats. please note that we got these goats for pets not breeding it just turned out that they were bred.It was ment to go look at them but the kid cried because he wanted them and he loved them after seeing them. We couldnt just go get the 1 boy((just got him casturated)). Well we couldnt just get 1 we had to get the twins...and we just couldnt leave the two mothers so we walked home with all 5. We were planning on getting show goats and well this is what we ended up with


----------



## Zero (May 9, 2010)

but we love them either way no matter what


----------

