Washing stinky goats.

[freedomfrom4]

My goat girls need a bath. Any advice? They need hooves trimmed, bathed, hair clipped, CD&T, and dewormed. Oh the joy of goat ownership They might get thier teeth brushed at this rate Anyone want to come help!
So what should I use as shampoo?
What is the milk withdraw for cydectin or should I use that other dewormer since no one is bred right now?

I'll try and add befor and after pictures later

[Backfourty,MI.]

Good luck to you & they goats too! It sounds like your all going to be in for a treat! Hehehe! I have never given any of our goats bathes, I just brush them, they hate to get wet so I can't imagine how that's going to be for you.

I bet someone that shows there goats will jump in here & tell you what to wash them with & maybe have some good pointers as well.

[saanengirl]

Any mild shampoo will work. Since I have Saanens, I use a shampoo formulated for white dogs. Human shampoos work just fine. I know several people who just use cheap human shampoo on their goats. One tip. Trim the feet after you bathe so that the feet will be softer from the goats standing in the water.

[Goat Servant]

Good tip Saanengirl about softer feet, plus you can see the coronary band.

Unless you live in a real warm climate I wouldnt suggest bathing you will never get them dry.
If they are really that bad maybe try sprinkling a bunch of baking soda to absorb the odor & brushing the dickens out of them.

[freedomfrom4]

My daughter bought 2 nubians in November and when you pet them ucky stuff comes off in your hand. The wether has finally broke. Not 70 but not freezing. So I was going to wash them and the ones I milk we haven't even tried the milk cause the goats smell so bad. It is a mixture of stinky buck smell and where they had thier babies. Even when I wash thier udder and down below befor milking alot of stuff still falls in the milk. yuck. I was going to wash and stall everyone so that they wouldn't be in the wind.

[dragonchick]

Even at 70° I wouldn't wash them. Goats don't like water/wet anyway so it would really stress them.

[Pony]

Have you clipped the hair on their udders so you don't get any dirt falling into the milk?

I'd be reluctant to wash mine. A good brushing with a rubber curry comb makes all the difference in my goats. (Is 3 goats a herd yet? )

[saanengirl]

In cool weather when I am not showing I have used my horse grooming kit on my goats, especially when they are shedding. I go through the same routine: curry comb, dandy brush, body brush. Naturally I omit the mane and tail brush and the hoof pick isn't generally necessary.

I have bathed my goats in relatively cool weather at shows. If it is significantly warmer than it was a week ago and your goats are acclimated to colder weather, they will be ok with being bathed as long as you can keep them out of the wind and bathe them during the middle of the day so they can dry before it gets cold at night.

[shiandpete.1]

We wash for shows even if it is chilly and have a blower to dry them. We use whatever shampoo is cheap usually VO5 or white rain, sometimes strawberry scented or apple lol. We also do the milk shave, which includes the udder, in front, inside the flank, inside the back legs, and before the kid their butt and tail. This really cuts down on the amount of stuff that falls into the milk. Sometimes nothing gets into the milk. Good luck on bathing day!

[Heidi's_Goats]

I'd give them a quick shower and I just use my shampoo. They smell so good! Towel dry them off. Take them inside and blow dry them good. It will make it a lot easier to clip their hair. Then do the hooves.

This spring I'm going to try just Ivomec Drench and after their clip dust them good with Permethrin and Diatomaceous Earth. Just pour it on and then rub it in without getting too much in the air.

Good Luck!