Is Two Teats 
the Ultimate Answer?

Our goal is focused on  raising the maximum total weight of kids per dam. The more kids we can raise per doe and the heavier they are at weaning time, the better opportunity for more potential profits. Therefore the better a doe can raise multiple kids, the better she fits into our breeding program.

If you ask a breeder why two teats are best, the only honest answer they can give you is "that is what buyers are looking for". They do not have any justification other than it is neat. This may have come from breeders that were in the dairy goat business prior to raising boer goats. There is a difference between "clean structure" teats and "deformed" teats. A deformed teat is considered anything that is has multiple tips on a common teat. That could be a fishtail teat. Therefore any clean two-teat doe is better than one with deformed teats. There is little or no argument on this.

If current buyers are looking for the two-teated doe, you can't ignore it. If you are about to buy animals, you can't ignore this because you will be selling them or their kids at some time. The question gets to be "why are four separated teats bad?" This is not a freak of nature. This did not occur because of a side effect of some medicine. It is nature doing it and it is fairly common in goats. Is nature trying to tell you something. Four clean and separated teats are appropriate and valid according to all of the standards. The South African breeders were the original breeders to consider that four may be better than two.

You need to watch a doe with three kids trying to nurse. The doe generally wants all of the kids to nurse at the same time. She will gather them up and only allow them to start nursing when multiple kids are there. All three heads will push into the udder with only two of the kids getting any milk. The other one, normally the smaller and weaker, will be left out. After a few seconds of nursing, the doe will move away from the kids and this will generally leave one that did not get any nutrition. The weaker one will normally be the one left out each time and may not grow as fast or as healthy as the other two. A doe may even reject one of the kids knowing she can only raise so many. It does not mean a doe can't raise 3 or 4 with only two teats but it gets back to your goal. Is your goal to just raise the kids alive or raise each of them to the maximum weight capability. The more nutrition each kid can get the better the total weaning weight of all three kids. A doe with four clean and separated teats can nurse 4 kids at the same time. No kid is left out and all are likely to do better.

The final note on the "answer today" is your requirement for two teated animals are being met many times by breeders clipping the "excess" teats. Look at some of the does you have purchased to see if there are some faint scars where some excess teats once were. This causes two problems in the future. The first problem is only the current excess teats were clipped and the genes are still the same. You did not really solve anything. The problem was only hidden. The second problem is clipping the excess teat weakens the wall and is more likely to have bulges in the teat or bag when the heavy pressure of the first milk comes in. (see picture to the right).  This can dramatically reduce the productive life of your "perfect two teated" doe. At consignment and production sales, don't just look to see if there are two teats. Look for the tale-tale scares also.
 

It is the best answer tomorrow?

 Right now, many breeders long range breeding plan looks no longer than one breeding season for the next kids they can have and sell. The goal of serious breeders should be longer term and target to improve the breed and the opportunity to make a profit. That goal can't have a focus on "if the nose has a roman shape or if there may be too much red in a patch in the wrong place". The standards of the boer associations are giving you no help or guidance in understanding the relative value of the boer characteristics. There is nothing to let you know that the shape of the nose is more or less valuable than the shape of the teats. If you breed your animals to have a better roman nose or more feminine look, how does that help you in achieving your goal. Eventually, the boer goats will have to justify their prices according to the amount of meat they produce.

Our objective to to focus on both two and four teated animals. We have does with two teats and we have does with four teats. We can respond to the people that have to have two teats but we can breed for what we believe will be the next wave of customer requirements once they stop to ask the real question ---"why two teats rather than four?"

Colorado Breeder   ------ "Multi-teats are a plus as our gene lines take us up into the quints.  You are the only person I know to write what you observed in a nursing doe with offspring and to explain multi-teats relationship to natural nursing.  I get very upset when humans have so much control over the evolution of animals and don't even take the responsibility to observe what they are doing naturally.  Thank you for putting something like that into media. "

Arizona Breeder ----"I just read your argument on 2 teats verses 4. I totally agree! I am experiencing the problem now. I bred a fullblood buck to my purebred Nubians and when they each had triplets what you said is exactly what is happening. I think 4 is better!"