Goat Hoof Trimming

BackyardChickenLady said:

I don't get a specific video when I click the link...has it been deleted or something?

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I've re-embedded the video to the first post. Go ahead and go back to that post and you can view it straight from there. Thanks!

elevan said:

I've re-embedded the video to the first post. Go ahead and go back to that post and you can view it straight from there. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Got it thanks! Great video tutorial!

Definitely gives me the confidence to go trim for the first time! Lets see how this goes!

*went pretty well!*
I need to invest in better shears but it definitely was time for a trim. The man I bought them from (they were 5 or 6 months old) had never trimmed them, so I was expecting to have to do a lot of work but it wasnt too bad. Of my three, Stella was the worst, screaming like I was trying to butcher her. Patrice was surprisingly the best, despite the fact she is the most skittish and never really lets me touch or handle her! I did see a little blood, so I know I need to just watch it and make sure it's clean. Do I clean it with anything special? I feel like I remember seeing peroxide but not sure.

@GrovelandBromos

Good job in giving them a hoof trim!

Yeah, sometimes goats will act like you are killing them

I put mine in a milk stand and trim their hooves, but I have also put them on their side. When I use the stand, I give them some feed or hay. The behave a lot better that way

I wouldn't worry to much about the blood. I use styptic powder (like Kwik Stop-its for dogs, cats & Birds) when I cut to far. I have never had an issue with infection etc.

As far as the hoof trimmers... I really like the "Silverline" trimmers. I have used sooooooo many different shears. This one is by far the best. It is SUPER sharp, and doesn't dull easily. It also has little grooves so dirt has a place to go so dirt doesn't stay on the blade.
You can order it here-
https://goatsupplies.netfirms.com/hoof.html
They are very nice folks!

Thanks a lot @Goat Whisperer! Those definitely will be better than the ones I have. Also really like looking at all the other fun stuff!

Also good to know about the bleeding. I figured it wouldn't be a huge deal because it was barely a drop of blood. But i definitely would rather be safe than sorry just starting out!

I need to build a milk stand, so I've been studying the milk stand thread haha. But yeah, I really want to build it sooner than later so that I'm not kneeling on the garage floor or basically laying on it with the goats between my legs. It was interesting that's for sure!

Thank you, thank you! This video was so helpful. I've been putting off trimming my does hooves (I know, I'm horrible) mainly because I don't have hoof trimmers but also because I'm so nervous about messing up and causing an accident. They were trimmed from the owners before us but it has been getting to be that time again to cut. Trimming the cats and dogs nails has always been my husbands job because I'm so bad at getting them to let me come near them with clippers. The goats have been much more tolerable with me touching their feet than my husband, so this may end up being my job. I feel much more confident about it now!

Amateur question that might be answered somewhere in this thread: HOW often should you trim a goat's hooves?

It depends. Some absolutely hate that answer but here are a few things that play a role.

Breed of goat, genetics, weather, terrain, and feed.

Some breeds of goats like the boer are known for having hooves that grow like crazy. Other breeds, like the Kiko may not need their hooves trimmed for over a year. Genetics play a big factor too.

If you have a lot of big rocks in your pasture you probably wont need to trim as often.

Feed, that is a huge role in hooves too. My one doe for example hardly ever needed her hooves trimmed but she only ate grass hay and pasture at that time, she had a good weight so she didn't need feed. Once she freshened and I put her on a 20% protein feed and her hooves started to grow rather quickly.

With all that being said, just keep an eye on the hooves and once you see them starting to get overgrown that is when you need to trim. Every goat is different and only you will know how often to trim How many goats do you have?

Newish to goats and have not had to do this yet. I believe my male Boer goat needs it done. I've watched the video, very nice! But, I know for a fact he is not going to sit there as nicely as her goat in the video did. It takes my husband and myself to hold him just for medication purposes. Thank goodness he has horns to hold otherwise I'm not sure we would be able to get a good grip on him.

Tips on securing your goat with out causing any pain to him/her to get them to hold still to do something like this?????

I put them in a head gate/milkstand. If you don't have one you can tie him to a post with some goodies for him to eat. I was able to trim my 200lb lamancha buck's hooves by doing it this way. It they are smaller you can just flip them on their side and sit over them (Don't put your full weight on them! a little is fine). Putting a blindfold on a wild goat can help keep them calm.