Ask The Vet

By Dr. Ken McMillan
DTN/The Progressive Farmer Contributing Editor

Question:

I have a calf that is only nursing on a small extra teat on the back of the bag. Can she get enough milk from that to live?

Answer:

What you have is called a "supernumerary teat," and some can give milk -- usually not enough for a calf to live on, but some. I would be very worried whether this calf got enough colostrum.

On dairies, we routinely remove these teats when the animals are still calves to avoid problems when they get on the milk line. I don't think I have ever seen a problem with them on beef cows.

Be sure there is not a problem with this cow's normal teats. If they are balloon teats, the calf may not be able to nurse them. If there is mastitis or blind teats, there may be no milk coming out. If there is not a problem, you may need to help the calf move to the normal teats if the calf has not figured it out already.

(VM/CZ)

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