[Jacob-list] Extra Teat

[Dr. David Lincicome]

1730 hrs/Wednesday 11 June 2003

The definitive mammary system in all mammals develops from a milk line 
having multiple  teat sites in the fetus.  In human beings most babies 
 at birth have only 2 gland sites that have developed from the milk 
line, but some babies have indicators of more than 2.  Personally I have 4.

It would be of much interest and ultimately possibly  of economic value 
to know what gene or genes are involved in the determination of the 
number of functional mammary glands.

David

Neal and Louise Grose wrote:

>OK,OK,OK
>
>Mammals normally have twice as many teats as they NORMALLY have offspring.
>Cows have four but normally have only one offspring (and do less well with
>twins than sheep or goats), possibly because they have been selected for
>milk production. I noticed that our Scottish Highland cows have rear
>quarters (one "quarter" or mammary gland per teat) much larger than front
>quarters. Immediately after birth, the little calves could not nurse the
>large teats in the rear, but had no problem with the smaller ones on the
>front. I did not notice that they nursed the front ones later, and they did
>not seem to produce much milk.
>
>The number of glands in sheep appear to vary. Most sheep have two, I think,
>but our Finns have more. The Finns are hardly considered primitive in this
>regard, and need all the help they can get when feeding those triplets and
>quads. I have not surveyed the Jacobs, but assumed that the front ones would
>be mostly non-functioning.
>
>"Extra teats" are ones that are more than one per mammary gland, and are
>generally smaller than the normal ones. If these are left on the animal,
>they can "invade" the developing udder tissue and develop secretory
>tissue...the larger the teat, the more problem. I can not imagine that extra
>teats would be a problem on sheep. The thicker milk may well be a result of
>somewhat different nature or quantity of the secretory tissue. On animals
>that are milked by humans, extra teats get in the way and can pose another
>entry way for mastitis; so, removing them is more than just a cosmetic
>procedure.
>
>YES, your rams have teats. Bulls have teats. "Useless as teats on a boar
>hog" teats. I have "teats".
>
>Years ago, my animal science professor related that he had a very sincere
>and studious student that was given a take home test in a survey course. The
>test included information on mammary glands and milk production in various
>farm animals. Included as a gag was the question: "How many mammary glands
>do human females have?" The student left the question blank. When questioned
>on this, he replied that "he couldn't find it in the book". There is an
>obvious question here that is beyond the scope of jacoblist....
>
>Neal
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mary Ellen Hansson" <mhansson1 at triad.rr.com>
>To: "'jacoblist'" <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
>Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2003 8:34 PM
>Subject: RE: [Jacob-list] Extra Teat
>
>
>  
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I have lots of ewes with extra teats here from multiple bloodlines.
>>Lambs don't seem to bother about the vestigial teats, but there is a
>>tiny amount of milk that can come out of them---doubt it would be enough
>>to feed a lamb though.
>>
>>Neal....How are cows set up for "chambers" in the udder----4 in a cow
>>and 2 in a sheep???
>>
>>Mary Ellen Hansson
>>ISeeSpots Farm www.iseespots.com
>>Jacob Sheep, Fiber, Spinning equipment,
>>Books, Patterns, Knitting/Crochet/Tatting
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Jacob-list mailing list, sponsored by Swallow Lane Farm & Fiberworks
>>Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
>>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list
>>
>>    
>>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Jacob-list mailing list, sponsored by Swallow Lane Farm & Fiberworks
>Jacob-list at jacobsheep.com
>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jacob-list
>
>  
>