hoof rot

[MommaBugg]

I just bought a goat last Friday, I think he may have hoof rot. I had an order coming from caprine supply that included hoof shears, and I knew his hoofs looks bad from the top but upon getting him down and going to trim him up, was horrified. I have never trimmed goat hoofs before, so dont know EXACTLY how far to trim or what they should look like.

His hoofs seemed bit 'rubbery' cracked and hollow pretty deep. The back of all four hooves were like cartilage. It looks as though I should try and trim more off but I dont want to hurt him and I dont know how far down I should trim.

Also if anyone could suggest any remedies, or products that could help fix him? DH wants to know if hydrogen peroxide would work until we could get to TSC to get any hoof rot treatment.

 

[redtailgal]

Can you post pics of him standing on his hooves as normal, and another one with them lifted so we can see the bottom?

I dont know that much about hooves, but there are folks on here that can offer some good advice.

 

[elevan]

If there is any concern of hoof rot then soak the hooves in a 10% Zinc Sulfate solution.

Here is a good instruction video from YouTube for trimming hooves:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugMu_c2lGyI[/youtube]

 

[Goatherd]

People can tell you what they do in words, but sometimes seeing a practical application of the act itself works better. Here is a YouTube video that may help you understand better. Once you're there, you can see many videos on trimming goat's hooves. Good luck to you and congratulations on the new goat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdmtT4Pj46g

 

[20kidsonhill]

you may do him more justice if you hire someone to work with him a couple times, and then learn as they are there trimming his feet. Or at least find someone that will come and show you a couple times. Working with hooves that are out of shape can be tricky.


Kopper tox is a good product for hooves.

You need to trim away any cracked walls, so the dirt doesn't keep getting into them. be careful not to take too much off the back of the hoof(heal) and not enough off the front. You should follow the hair line of the top of the hoof. The top of the hoof and the bottom of the hoof should be mostly parallel but you can have it at a little angel with the heal being a little shorter.

 

[MommaBugg]

ok i trimmed more.. i read that you trim till you see a little pink .. i did that and they dont look rotten, but the outside of the hoof is loose from the 'frog' i think they called it quite a ways up.

He gets kinds of stressed so i give him little break between times.. i am trying to scrape as much yuk and dirt out as i can as i go.

the center of his hoof, what i think one site called a 'frog' looks healthy once i scrape away and clean it up. I am in the middle of trimming away cracked loose stuff. There are really deep pockets.

I am hoping to get to TSC tomorrow so i will look for the kopper tox,, I had some of that in my caprine supply cart.. WHY DIDNT I GET IT!

Should his heels be kinda like thick cartilage?

 

[20kidsonhill]

ok i trimmed more.. i read that you trim till you see a little pink .. i did that and they dont look rotten, but the outside of the hoof is loose from the 'frog' i think they called it quite a ways up.

He gets kinds of stressed so i give him little break between times.. i am trying to scrape as much yuk and dirt out as i can as i go.

the center of his hoof, what i think one site called a 'frog' looks healthy once i scrape away and clean it up. I am in the middle of trimming away cracked loose stuff. There are really deep pockets.

I am hoping to get to TSC tomorrow so i will look for the kopper tox,, I had some of that in my caprine supply cart.. WHY DIDNT I GET IT!

Should his heels be kinda like thick cartilage?

yes, the heels are like thick cartilage.

 

[20kidsonhill]

you can see in that video, that they had to remove more of the front of the hoof and less near the heel. That is very normal, the toe always grows faster than the heel. Even though the heel is soft and may cut off easily, becareful not to remove too much, before deciding how much toe you can remove.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Copper sulfate also works, as does Hoof N Heel, if you don't have any Koppertox or zinc sulfate. Soaking in epsom salt water will also help until you can get another med.

 

[Neelie Nix]

I am following this. I just bought a new Nubian boer mix and she has terrible hoof rot. The ppl I got her from did not treat this and I am scared it is bad bad.