Question:
I have read an article you wrote about extra teats and potential problems. How do you know if the extra teats will actually cause problems? I have a female who has 2 located about a 1/4 to 1/3 inch outside of and slightly above of her regular 2 rear teats. She is pregnant with her first cria.
Her dam is normal. What are the chances she will pass this along to her off-spring. Would you keep such an animal in your breeding program?
Your opinion would be very valuable in helping us to make this decision.
Thanks so much.
Answer:
Most extra teats do not cause problems. They present a risk for infection (mastitis) and decreased lactation (because of diminished mammary tissue in the normal glands), but this is uncommon.
Teat number is fairly highly heritable.
Basically, what we say is, if you have two females identical in every way, choose to keep the one with 4 teats for breeding. I am not sure I would use teat number as a strong selection factor, but it should be considered and used as a discriminator.
David E Anderson, DVM, MS, DACVS