Hoof trimming

CarolynRenee · #1 08/14/10, 10:06 PM

I'm pretty sure I've read it in several places that goat hooves only need to be trimmed a couple times a year.

I don't know if they have their goats on pavement or running on boulders every day, but I have to trim my goats hooves about every three weeks or they get too long. The outer part of the hoof grows & gets bent under the soft part & it seems that I'm constantly trimming them.

Granted, they don't have many big rocks to climb on. We have several cinder blocks that they play on, but other than that the area they are in is just grass / woods.

Is this some sort of weird thing with my goats or do other people have to trim their goats feet more than three times a year?

Wonderland · #2 08/14/10, 10:15 PM

I have the same problem. The soil here is not rocky at all, so their hooves grow faster than what a couple of trimmings a year would handle. They need trimming now, but it's so miserably hot and humid that I keep putting it off...

My dad rolled a pretty big concrete chunk into their pen the day before yesterday. We're hoping they will climb/walk on it, and it will help slow the growth. We're also planning on making a platform with shingles on it. I know they'll climb all over it, and I'm hoping the shingles will help keep the hooves filed down. Here's hoping it actually works!

Oat Bucket Farm · #3 08/14/10, 10:45 PM

I trim hooves every 3 to 4 weeks.

Minelson · #4 08/14/10, 10:46 PM

Mine are on rough concrete in the barn and in their nighttime pen. Lots of stones and gravel where they roam and we take walks down the gravel road. I trim every 6-8 weeks, about the same as the horses.

CaliannG · #5 08/14/10, 11:21 PM

Hard pan clay here, which in this weather, IS rock. I don't have to trim hardly at all through the summer, but it's about every 6 weeks in winter and spring.

Added: Also depends upon the goat. I hardly ever need to trim my wether's hooves, and seldom my buck. One of my does needs trimming a little more often, and two others need it much more. Yet they are all in the same pasture?

Goat Servant · #6 08/14/10, 11:32 PM

Carolyn dont worry, my friend trims about every 3 mos but she is on the dry side of the state.
Here on the wet side we have to do it about every 2mos & some more often.

Creamers · #7 08/14/10, 11:59 PM

Yep, every 6-8 weeks - and mine have some rocky terrain, too

wintrrwolf · #8 08/15/10, 07:13 AM

my saanen I have been trimming once a month, at first to get them closer to what they should look like, now to maintain them, hers grow fast and will crack. The rest of them haven't really needed it.

VegRN · #9 08/15/10, 12:00 PM

I trim the goats when the farrier comes out for the horses (6-8 weeks), but have noticed they seem to need it more often so I just keep an eye on them and trim them up in between as needed.

BethW · #10 08/15/10, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oat Bucket Farm

I trim hooves every 3 to 4 weeks.

Same here. My goats have only grassy pasture and the straw-covered dirt floor to walk on and their hooves grow quickly.

I've also heard light colored hooves grow faster than dark ones. It's definitely true in my small herd.

Lada · #11 08/15/10, 06:09 PM

I do it once a month. They can go longer, but if I do it that often, it's just a five minute job, as opposed to a half hour job. And, I give them a once-over once a month anyway - check eyelids, coats, etc. That way I get can look over the ones that I'm not milking every day.

motdaugrnds · #12 08/15/10, 07:07 PM

I, too, trim 3-4 times a year (does & bucks). I am considering creating a "rough" concrete sloped area they would "have" to climb/walk on to get in and out of their pen/barn.

wintrrwolf · #13 08/15/10, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motdaugrnds

I, too, trim 3-4 times a year (does & bucks). I am considering creating a "rough" concrete sloped area they would "have" to climb/walk on to get in and out of their pen/barn.

wow you read my thoughts! Been considering the same thing, think it would help with the hooves, help clean up and keeping it clean easier. Now I just have to teach myself how to be a masonary or is it a cementist??

missythemom · #14 08/15/10, 09:29 PM

We trim every 4-6 weeks depending on the growth.

Pony · #15 08/15/10, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

wow you read my thoughts! Been considering the same thing, think it would help with the hooves, help clean up and keeping it clean easier. Now I just have to teach myself how to be a masonary or is it a cementist??

LOL!

Just pick up a bag of quick-mix cement at Menard's and put a layer of it on the picnic table!

wintrrwolf · #16 08/16/10, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

LOL!

Just pick up a bag of quick-mix cement at Menard's and put a layer of it on the picnic table!

I can't believe I hadn't thought of that already!!

GoatsRus · #17 08/16/10, 08:37 AM

BTW, if you feed grain, it makes their hooves grow faster. I've also noticed that Kiko hooves grow slower than boer hooves.

fishhead · #18 08/16/10, 08:54 AM

I built this for my goats one summer. It was made from 2"x8" boards covered with roughed up Sacrete. The base was very sturdy and made from 2"x4" boards.

The goats were borrowed and I returned them in the fall so I didn't see how well it worked.

Hoof trimming - Goats

CarolynRenee · #19 08/16/10, 10:36 AM

fishhead - i bet the goats LOVED that! We may have to do something like that in the near future (when time allows, HA!) as I'm sure it will help with the hoof trimming.

bethw - i think that may be true. My Nigerian & new Saanen / Nigerian kids hooves are all black & they don't need trimmed nearly as much. Or maybe it could be the Nigerian blood.