# Teething Goats



## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

It is that time of year! Our older goats (not old old..yearlings and such) are teething. One of them, Branwyn (nubian), is a milker. I wanted to bring this up because some teething goats just don't do well milking or eating when they are teething. Add the heat and you have a pathetic looking goat that others would think was sick. Branywn has lost her two front teeth and is not eating her kibble (grain..our goats know it as kibble) and is only eating flakes. She looks horrible, has mush poop, and dropped in milk production. I am not adding anything or giving her anything other than a little fresh catnip and probios to help her out. 
So I wanted to bring this up so others will take into mind, look at teeth when your goats are not looking great with this heat, drop in milk, or not seem to want to eat their kibble, it could be they are teething. Teething can go on into theri 4th and 5th years...sometimes a little longer. The symptoms can sometimes fool you into thinking its more than what it is.
Gwen (alpine) is also teething but you would never know it. Spunkier than normal, mowing down her food, eating hay like crazy and just being Gwen. Tallis (alpine) lost four at once was a down fella, with mushy poop, for a day or two and perked back up to his normal kissy boy self. Solomon (nubian)...it didn't even phase. So breed of goat does not count .
I am not saying things could not be worms, cocci, infections and such...just keep teething in mind.
Tam


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## Rosesgoats (Apr 22, 2011)

What does it look like in their mouth when they are teething? Do you see missing teeth? Thanks for the heads-up I will have to look in my goat's mouths more often.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Feel for loosened teeth, they will be missing, or new ones coming in. Sometimes a tooth will be displaced and is evident right away. I found this out with Psyche on the displaced tooth and worried over it endlessly until one day it finally fell out. It wasn't a bite issue as I had thought...just loosing a tooth. Poor Lynn thought I was obsessing but I truely was worried it was a bad thing. First time I had seen a displaced tooth, kinda reminded me of Bubba, Jeff Dunham's one dummy :sigh. 
Tam


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## NWgoats (Jul 17, 2008)

You are so right about the teething. My yearlings are also teething. One of them has
baby teeth that don't want to come out, so the "big girl" teeth are causing pressure,
which has made her gums sore. She is not grazing at all, but will eat her hay and grain
with gusto. 
I have mentioned the teething thing to several of my first time goat owners as something
to be aware of. (I wish someone had told me about it when I got my first goats)


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I freaked the first time I saw my beautiful yearling buck's teeth were loose, lol! But I never noticed it really causing them any trouble. That's interesting to note.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Thanks, Tammy. I've never thought to check teeth. Ugh. Another thing to "worry" about.


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Hehe, I noticed my yearling buck was missing some teeth a couple weeks ago when he was doing the flemen thing! It was so goofy looking!


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2011)

Wow, I had no idea goat's go through teething! Can anyone provide me with some information as to why goat's don't have top teeth?


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Goats have a leathery dental pad for the purpose of browsing. Their bottom teeth hold and push up on brush/grass/whatever and it is held between the bottom teeth and the dental pad. Then by "ripping" or pulling on the browse they are able to break it loose from the source and munch away  The upper and lower molars (back teeth) are used to grind and chew their food into more digestible matter. 
Teething in and of itself is a natural process that almost all creatures go through. It is really nothing to "worry" about...just something we should be aware of in the growth cycles. Not all goats are big fat babies  and some just loose more than one at a time and it may be uncomfortable to eat. The lack of their "normal" diet due to the uncomfortableness is what causes the fecal differences. Branwyn, the goat I mentioned above, is now back to eating her kibble, not all of it, but is back to eating and is regaining her fecal formity. Not that I do not do fecals to discount worm load or cocci.
Ages of goats can be "estimated" by the amount of kid teeth and adult teeth they have. Older goats ages, meaning much older like 8yrs and on, may be able to be estimated by the amount of wear or loss of teeth. It is a good idea for owners to associate themselves with the growth process of teeth so that they will know what they are looking for and what "might" be out of place, or a tooth that may be cracked or chipped that could be causing problems. 
Gums should also be a part of this overature to familiarize the owner of problems that can arise or be indictors that they may have a worm load issue, or a thorn, or an abcess in the salivary gland. Mouth care is not something that is done on a daily basis and many times is forgotten.
Tam


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## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

Here's something I noticed that was really odd on my saanen doe. She is 3 years old now. I bought her back in November, when she was 2, and shortly after, was looking at her teeth. I noticed that she had the correct number of adult incisors (2 per side), then one baby incisor, but she was missing her 4th incisors on both sides! Is that normal?


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I will find our book with that information in it and get a copy put on here. It tells the ages to the teeth but I do not think it is abnormal for teeth to exchange at different ages. 
Tam


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