Post by gcf on Jun 25, 2012 14:19:46 GMT -5
Hello everyone -
I recently acquired a yearling heifer and was somewhat surprised to discover that she has extra teats (more than 4). Searches on this board and others show that this is treated generally as a "nuisance" defect that can be physically corrected by the vet cutting off the extra teats, but that breeding decisions should be made to try to eliminate it from future generations.
Does anybody have information on what lineages of Dexters tend to carry spur teats? Is the characteristic generally passed only maternally, only paternally, or both? Is it a recessive trait that requires a double copy to express, and can therefore can be passed forward even in animals that don't express it, or does it have a more complex or unknown inheritance path?
I think Genebo mentioned that extra teats is a long-known issue with Dexters. Does anybody have a sense of what percentage of heifers/cows have them?
Thanks!
Kelsey
Great Circle Farm
I recently acquired a yearling heifer and was somewhat surprised to discover that she has extra teats (more than 4). Searches on this board and others show that this is treated generally as a "nuisance" defect that can be physically corrected by the vet cutting off the extra teats, but that breeding decisions should be made to try to eliminate it from future generations.
Does anybody have information on what lineages of Dexters tend to carry spur teats? Is the characteristic generally passed only maternally, only paternally, or both? Is it a recessive trait that requires a double copy to express, and can therefore can be passed forward even in animals that don't express it, or does it have a more complex or unknown inheritance path?
I think Genebo mentioned that extra teats is a long-known issue with Dexters. Does anybody have a sense of what percentage of heifers/cows have them?
Thanks!
Kelsey
Great Circle Farm
