tilt table

[okiemom]

one more Q

anyone ever use a tilt table for goats? they work for the sheep. I am looking for an easy way to vet goats. I have used the stocks,, they work but the goat can still be a pill. Is the table easier?

[BlueHeronFarm]

Oh, how I would love a tilt table. I can imagine how much nicer hoof trimming would be.
...but I can never justify the price, since we've been getting along without one.

I've seen photos of someone's Nubians in a tilt table. Funny to watch the ears fly when they go sideways.

[DocM]

Well, it certainly would be easier, but it would be hard to justify the expense. I've raised an awful lot of goats and sheep, and not needed one yet.

[okiemom]

what do you all use? I can't grab them and wrangle them and I want to be able to di it alone. I just won't endanger my back by yanking on 150+lbs of goatsx50+ Soon the numbers will go up to over 100.

now my DH grabls them holds them and I quickly shoot them. I would like to be able to spend more time w/ them looking for any probems. Note... they don't get their feet trimmed if DH is holding them.

I looked at the stand w/ wench but same thing I have to grab a goat and drag/trought it up on it and then hope it doesen;t get upset and throw itself off the stand and hang.

[DocM]

I've never shot a goat, but I use either my milking stand (they're all trained to get up there and stand, even the boys, from the time they're little) or my sheep fitting stand (takes some work to get a 400lb Ram on there and chained in, but I've done it), lock their head in, and pick up one foot at a time. Front feet are easier, with back feet, I stand backwards to the goats hind end and put the foot I'm working on between my legs, just like I do with my horses. Sometimes with sheep, it's just easier to lay them down and have someone literally sit on their neck - if they can't get their head up, they don't struggle. I've seen commercial operations use a squeeze chute like cattlemen use, run them through one at a time, squeeze them, do all required maint, let 'em out the other side. They generally assemble a team, 1 person on each foot, one doing vaccinations, 1 doing worming. Get an animal done in a couple minutes at most. Check out the sydell's catalog for their commercial set up, it would work great for a large number of goats - spendy, but time is money.

http://www.sydell.com/