Hoof Trimmers in Mississippi!

LittleCloppers

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Hey all! We are new to this forum, but not new to goats. I have a Bachelors Degree in Applied Animal and Dairy Science with an emphasis in small ruminant production. My fiance and I own and run Little Cloppers Hoof Trimming and Small Ruminant Consultant service. We travel all over the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama trimming hooves on goats, sheep, pigs, llama, and alpaca. We have also recently undertaken sheep shearing, but it is still a learning process for us. We have sheared about 50 sheep so far, as well as 2 llamas and two ornery alpaca's! We specialize in hoof rot treatment and corrective trimming for foundered goats. We do everything from banding to assisting with nutrition plan formulation based on forage availability and other factors, on a herd-by-herd basis.

We personally raise commercial Boer goats, with a herd of 42 currently, an are slowly introducing some Spanish influence to increase hardiness, maternal abilities, and parasite resistance.

We also have a fledgling dairy herd. We have 5 Nigerian Dwarves, 3 La Mancha does, and two Nubians (a buck and doe).

I joined this forum to learn more about the dairy breeds specifically, from the experiences of other producers. Since we added the dairy goats earlier this year, we have had multiple issues with each breed. We are currently battling our first ever round of coccidia, in the ten years we have owned goats, and it is the La Mancha and the large Nubian doe who are affected. They seem to be completely different from the meat breeds, and I hope to learn more about dairy animals and how to handle them, some of the issues that they are more susceptible to, and how other producers manage their herds. My college degree is geared more towards meat producing animals, but we have many clients who raise dairy animals. We would like to learn more from you guys, and are always more than happy to answer hoof questions in return!!

Hopefully we can all learn from each other a bit! Nice to meet everyone!
 

Alaskan

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I rather think the issues with dairy goats isn't breed specific. ..but related to raising practices.

Dairy goats are more likely to experience lots of intervention..

so assisted birth, bottle feeding etc.

As I am sure you know, improper feeding at the beginning can result in animals that are more susceptible to disease.

Also... extra coddling at the beginning of life can result in animals that should not be breeding. ...well. ..breeding.
 

frustratedearthmother

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Eek...I hate to say this but my Nubians are probably the most fragile goats on the place. Pygmies are tough - Kinders are tougher - but Nubians are just wussies when it comes to parasite resistance...:(

Just my experience on my place.
 

CntryBoy777

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Welcome from NW Mississippi!!.....:frow
We have goats, chickens, ducks, and cats here on our 20acres. That could turn out to be a good business here, since there aren't very many vets in the state that truly service small ruminents. Here in the NW portion of the state they claim to treat them, but they don't do testing, vaccines, or preventative care. What portion of the state are you located in? Our goats are meat goats, but there are many here with dairy breeds and are very knowledgeable and experienced with them. It sure would be great to have ya in the "Herd" and as ya browse the Forums and Threads if there is a question, comment, or advice just feel free to post....we also love pics so share as ya wish.
Again.....:welcome
 

LittleCloppers

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We have had to give birthing assistance, and bottle raise plenty with the meat breeds of both goats and sheep. I think the dairy just needs more maintenance than our meat breeds do, as far as deworming, bolusing, and things of that nature. It seems like when we "leave them be", SOMETHING will go wrong. Since owning them, we have dealt with coccidia, barberpole, and CAE (this one was culled immediately, luckily she never came into contact with any other animals, as she was still in quarantine when test results came back.) And we have only owned dairy goats for about 5 months! I have been hoping that the issues we have been experiencing were due to the negligence of previous owners, and that they will get easier as we go. Our meat herd gets wormed 3x a year, copper bolus every 6 months, and gets fed every other day (with 17 acres of good forage to browse). Compared to them, the dairy goats are a LOT more work. I knew that going into dairy though. We had 8 bottle kids last year from the meat herd, had to cull the four females who just flat out refused to care for their kids. We tried grafting, every trick in the book, and they would NOT take them. We kept the doe kids, but I spent a small fortune on formula last year. I wanted to add dairy so that we can feed our own bottle babies, and we have several local people who are interested in goat milk for soap as well, so we have an outlet for any extra that we dont want to use. But boy...these dairy goats re sure making me work for it, let me tell ya!!
 

LittleCloppers

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Welcome from NW Mississippi!!.....:frow
We have goats, chickens, ducks, and cats here on our 20acres. That could turn out to be a good business here, since there aren't very many vets in the state that truly service small ruminents. Here in the NW portion of the state they claim to treat them, but they don't do testing, vaccines, or preventative care. What portion of the state are you located in? Our goats are meat goats, but there are many here with dairy breeds and are very knowledgeable and experienced with them. It sure would be great to have ya in the "Herd" and as ya browse the Forums and Threads if there is a question, comment, or advice just feel free to post....we also love pics so share as ya wish.
Again.....:welcome

Hey there! We are located just south of Jackson, MS. Well, thats where we live. But we travel as far west as Shreveport, Louisiana, as far north as Tupelo, and we have been as far east as Montgomery Alabama. We have grown rapidly, are just approaching our first year anniversary as an "official" business, and already have over 200 clients. We get calls for everything from broken legs, hoof trims, hoof rot, vaccinations, deworming, sheep shearing, trimming domestic deer and llama feet... we even take on pot belly pig hoof trimming. Our most "delicate" endeavor involved a 650 lb Yorkshire boar with ripped off dewclaws. That took sedation for us to fix. We have three different veterinarians who send people to us for hoof issues. We absolutely LOVE our job. :)

Thats why we are now transitioning to a full service Small Ruminant Consultant Company, because we literally do just about everything short of invasive surgeries (although we have sutured up a goat who ripped open their shoulder on a fence, one of our own). We have to be careful of certain regulations and laws which place restrictions on what we can do, for example, we cant run around giving shots of Dexamethasone and Nuflor. We cant give anything prescription, all we can do is suggest that the owner contact a veterinarian and try to get their hands on a specific medication that they may need if it is prescription. We have to check with the Board of Animal Health to see what all we can do but they actually arent very restrictive for what we can do with small ruminants and "exotic" livestock. Its nice to meet you, and I look forward to learning more from everyone here!
 

babsbag

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I have raised both Boar and dairy, but currently only have dairy. I have two nigi bucks so not much experience with them but I have about 35 Alpine does and 15 LaMancha does. Have never owned a Nubian and probably never will. But I don't find that my dairy stock is any tougher or weaker than my Boers. But when they are in milk production they do take more minerals and more grain to look good, but if they are just raising their own kids I never supplement with grain. I have never had cocci in an adult goat but always have to do preventative on the kids. As far as parasites they just aren't a problem for me on dry lot, too hot and dry here during the summer for worms to exist.

I wish you were in CA. I would hire you in a heartbeat to do hooves for me.
 

Alaskan

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I don't have many goats, but my sister has a herd, mostly dairy.

She has found that the ones that are sickly and wormy are either that way because they were poorly raised. ...or genetics.

I have only had 2 nubians...and the nubian I have now i's 1/4 Boar. So...very little experience with them.. but the ones I have had are problem free.
 

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