Hoof Trimming Rookie

[CritterLover]

My goats are about 9 months old and are going to need a hoof trimming soon, I think. Everyone I know who has goats seems to be oblivious to the idea of having to trim feet (ie. "you have to trim their feet?"). So, is there a good place to learn about just how to do it myself? We have tons of sandy soil here and it has done a great job of keeping the feet from overgrowing too fast but I'm sure it won't keep up with them forever. Maybe I'll take a picture of them and post it and someone can tell me their opinion...

[LomahAcres]

You may find this link helpful:


http://www.boergoatshome.com/hooves.php

You can usually buy hoof trimmers at your local farm store. For hard hoofs, just soak in water, softens them up nicely.

[topside1]

This link is very helpful. If you trim hooves regularly it's a simple quick job. If you ignore the hooves for any length of time you'll be in for back breaking nightmare, of course this depends on how many goats a person owns. I trim a few at a time, averaging every three months....Good luck.

http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/ar...inghooves.html

[CritterLover]

That was excellent, thank you!

I like how the 2nd link was quick to remind you to be current on the tetanus. Very good point.

[southerngurl]

I always want to trim them like horse feet, but goats have very upright hooves. Always have to keep that in mind. I use my hoof knife, and even my horse's hoof rasp lol.

[mrs.H]

Photos of trimming
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/hoof-trim-rf.htm

[annie716]

[QUOTE=topside1]This link is very helpful. If you trim hooves regularly it's a simple quick job. If you ignore the hooves for any length of time you'll be in for back breaking nightmare, of course this depends on how many goats a person owns. I trim a few at a time, averaging every three months....Good luck.

Take this advise literally, most of the goats we purchased have horribly overgrown feet. Some foot rot other issues. It's a real job getting them back in shape, hard work. I work on some practicially every week because lots of times I can't take enough off at 1 time. I don't use a knife but will be adding a rasp this week, now that I've had a little experience I think that will be handy. Hopefully before summer I will have them under control and can then just check a few monthly!

[Ana Bluebird]

I greatly reduce the amount of trimming that I have to do by putting large rocks in the pen for the goats to walk around on---mountain animals, right? If you don't have large rocks, cement areas work too.

[CritterLover]

Someone on this list had also suggested spools with roofing shingles nailed on and that coupled with the sand seems to be keeping them filed better than I thought. It's a beautiful afternoon here today so I sat and played with them a bit and picked up their feet (well, the wether's feet, the doe is a bit "prissy"). I was impressed with how seemingly good they looked compared to the pictures on the links you guys sent me. The toes could stand to be a bit shorter, but the angle is right and they stand as they should, according to what I read.

[Disco Paul]

Hi,
I recieved an email from the U of MN extension service regarding a study done at the u of NC. They used wire plaster lath and it almost eliminated hoof triming. Gonna build one of their sheds this summer.
Paul

[crowinghen]

Hi,
I recieved an email from the U of MN extension service regarding a study done at the u of NC. They used wire plaster lath and it almost eliminated hoof triming. Gonna build one of their sheds this summer.
Paul

Paul- do you have a link to this info?
Thanks!

[Kazahleenah]

I put shingles on top of the goat's playground things... keeps their hooves in pretty good shape. Seldom need to trim them.

[BlueHeronFarm]

Fiasco farms site is good - also Hoegger's includes a little hoof care book if you buy shears and stuff from them - there's a whole hoof care kit pre-kitted - shears, a pick/brush, rasp and booklet.