How common are extra teats?

[djinwa]

According to this article, about half of cows have them. I didn't realize that many. Had my daughter go look at a herd of cows from which I'd like to use a bull and many had extras and the people said that's common and no big deal. I guess you can cut them off, but seems like something that ought to be bred out. What do you think?

http://classes.ansci.illinois.edu/an...anatomy_4.html


Quote:
About 50% of all cows have extra teats, referred to as supernumerary teats. Some of these extra teats open into a "normal" gland, but many do not. Generally they are removed before 1 yr of age. A pseudo-teat has no streak canal, and therefore, no connection to the internal structures of the gland.

 

[dun]

I would have guessed them to be more common then 50%
Unless you're going to show her and they dock for extra teats why bother. On Dairy cows using a milker they can be a PITA but don;t hurt anything otherwise

 

[regolith]

They're hereditary, at least to some extent. Much less common than 50% in my calves - more like 5% (I check). But I know a breeder whose bull was culled by the AI company they'd sold it to because he threw extra teats, so I'd guess there's been some effort to reducing the problem in dairy cows.

Three reasons to remove them in dairy cattle at least - appearance, to avoid them getting in the way at milking time (nuisance value, and can agitate the cow) and the potential of mastitis. Really hard to treat mastitis in an supermammary teat.
Cutting them off when they're calves is no big deal, just got to make sure you snip the extra and not a real one. And don't get kicked. I've never removed one on a heifer more than a few weeks old.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I would have guessed them to be more common then 50%
Unless you're going to show her and they dock for extra teats why bother. On Dairy cows using a milker they can be a PITA but don;t hurt anything otherwise

I leave them be. 6 of my cows have them.

 

[farmwriter]

I've never counted how many of our girls have them, but none of the extras appear to be functional. I can see how it would be a bother in the milking barn, but in the pasture, I can't say we have any trouble because of it.

 

[djinwa]

Thanks for the replies - just one issue seen. Just trying to see how much weight to add to different things.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

interesting. I knew it was fairly common (heck it's common enough in humans) but didn't know it was as high as 50%.

Had a 3-teat cow once. Did alright, raised decent calves but only had three.