- Jan 31, 2009
- 373
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A fish tail teat is a fault in both meat and dairy goats, according to breed standards.
In dairy animals, the doe is culled from the registry (cannot be registered if a kid or must be deregistered if an adult). They can still be used for home milkers or in commercial dairies but it is slightly more difficult to milk them, sometimes one teat will milk into the bucket and the other into your face. It takes a certain knack to get it all in the bucket.
In meat or fibre animals, the doe can sometimes be registered depending on breed and the degree of split in the teat. It is generally accepted that a fish tail teat with a split of 50% or more is conducive to suckling, and these animals can be retained in the herd.
I have a high % boer doe with one fish tail teat, she kidded at 12 months and raised twin bucks in the top 5% of weaning weights for my group of maidens. So clearly it doesnt affect her ability to raise kids.
Fish tail teat is NOT highly heritable. The doe I mentioned above, her sire and dam both have two clean teats, her two buck kids each had four clean teats. I manage 350+ boer does (stud and commercial) on a nearby property and have yet to see any heritability concerning fish tail teats.
In dairy animals, the doe is culled from the registry (cannot be registered if a kid or must be deregistered if an adult). They can still be used for home milkers or in commercial dairies but it is slightly more difficult to milk them, sometimes one teat will milk into the bucket and the other into your face. It takes a certain knack to get it all in the bucket.
In meat or fibre animals, the doe can sometimes be registered depending on breed and the degree of split in the teat. It is generally accepted that a fish tail teat with a split of 50% or more is conducive to suckling, and these animals can be retained in the herd.
I have a high % boer doe with one fish tail teat, she kidded at 12 months and raised twin bucks in the top 5% of weaning weights for my group of maidens. So clearly it doesnt affect her ability to raise kids.
Fish tail teat is NOT highly heritable. The doe I mentioned above, her sire and dam both have two clean teats, her two buck kids each had four clean teats. I manage 350+ boer does (stud and commercial) on a nearby property and have yet to see any heritability concerning fish tail teats.
