# reminder to new folks and shame on me



## poorboys (Jun 17, 2011)

don't forget to trim hoofs!!! I never had this trouble untill this year with all the rain. So I've been spending the last two days trimming their feet, they just lay across my lap and I clean them up and trim away. I know most states have been hit hard this year with rain, just wanted to remind so nobody gets hit with foot rot!!!


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 17, 2011)

Yup, we fell behind last fall, and went into a wet winter and kidding season trying to catch up, ended up with 3 does out of 20 limping badly, took the rest of the winter and all this spring with trimmings weekly then biweekly to get the bad spots out of their hooves.

Thank for reminding all of us. Trust me it is easier to keep up with it. and your goats will sure appreciate it.


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## elevan (Jun 17, 2011)




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## Livinwright Farm (Jun 17, 2011)

x3(or is it technically 4?)  

Thankfully I live on a mountain that is covered in boulders, smaller boulders, sand, and old fallen over rotting trees. Water either sinks right in, or rolls right down the slope. plus the boulders help in keeping the goats' hooves trimmed down!  (never thought I would be thankful for those big things that make gardening here near impossible)


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## Mossy Stone Farm (Jun 17, 2011)

I was sick, this past fall/winter and just now got back into my routine, luckly no rot but some bad feet that are going to need some work to get back in shape.. I am so ashamed of myself


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## redtailgal (Jun 17, 2011)

.


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## Roll farms (Jun 18, 2011)

Redtailgal, I really, REALLY want you to come to "Roll Farm's Summer Goat Camp" here...I'll teach ya how to trim hooves, feed you, and you can pay me back w/ funny stories while we work.


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## RPC (Jun 18, 2011)

Roll Farms Goat Camp would be fun......Redtail you should totally go. There are so many animals to keep you busy.


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## redtailgal (Jun 18, 2011)

.


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 18, 2011)

Mossy Stone Farm said:
			
		

> I was sick, this past fall/winter and just now got back into my routine, luckly no rot but some bad feet that are going to need some work to get back in shape.. I am so ashamed of myself


We had a similar issue, but our family's health crisis lasted from the spring of 2009 through the summer of 2010, I was left having to try my best to trim by myself.  I fell miserably behind, Looking back, I wish I had asked around and hired someone to help, their are alot of people in the area, and I know someone would have done it for us for free, although I would have expected to pay them.   It wasn't fair to the goats for me to  be so stubborn about asking for help.


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## miss_thenorth (Jun 18, 2011)

What are the identifiable markers for foot rot?  I recenlty got a goat, who was in need of a good trim.  Now, two weeks later, I see some peeling of her hooves, so she needs another trim.  Is lameness the first sign, or is their something else I can look out for.


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## poorboys (Jun 18, 2011)

I just had one with the foot rot, she was limping pretty good, they others I just decided good time to get them all, when you trim one that has foot rot, there will be a bad smell and could be fleshy, you want to clean as good as possible and then I clean with bleach, and then put an ontimete on it. sorry about the spelling!!!


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 18, 2011)

I would say the first sign is a lot of pitting in the hoof as you are trimming, possibly a soft looking spot or a spot that looks like might be browsing or blood as if you have trimmed far enough, but you can tell you should be trimming, farther.  I don't have  a very good sense of smell, especially when I am out int he barn yard, everything just smells like goats to me, but their should be an off odor, and then once it gets bad enough they will limp badly.  

The best treatment is Penn G shots twice a day for 7 days and washing and scrubbing the foot and applying oxytetracyclene on the bad spots on the hoof especially between the toes on a daily basis for a few days. Trim one time a week until lameness goes away and bad spots grow out. 

What we did was trim one time a week and apply a heavy coating of koppertox on the foot each week. The one that was limping the worse also received 5 days of oxytetracylene,  It took around 3 or 4 months for a couple of them to do a lot better.


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## miss_thenorth (Jun 18, 2011)

Ok thanks.  well, she has no odour, and no softnessor lameness, I guess she just needs to have her toes trimmed back alot.  We didn't take too much off the first time as we didn't want it to be a shock to her sysytem, ( I know if you trim too much off horses, theya re tender, so we used the same philosophy)  Somethng to definitely keep an eye out for thought, Thanks.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Jun 19, 2011)

For hoof rot, I trim them down the best I can, and then apply "DR NAYLOR'S HOOF N' HEAL" It works pretty well....


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## TheMixedBag (Jun 19, 2011)

I went about a month over on trimming....it just kept slipping my mind, and I'm certainly paying for it now. Talala's feet were a WIP to begin with, it looked like hers hadn't been touched for months, and they're just now looking like they're supposed to, but Jenny and Barclay, oh lord. Their toes didn't grow, the heels did. I swear that's all that grew. Barclay's heels came up to about halfway over the sole of his feet, and Jenny's weren't far behind. Fortunately Barclay's still a baby, so fixing his feet wasn't horrible, but Jenny's is gonna take a while....not that her feet looked good to begin with (when I got her, she had elf toes), but still.

Seriously, don't forget trimming!


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## goatgrl (Jun 19, 2011)

How often should you trim them?


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## poorboys (Jun 20, 2011)

usually every 2 to 3 months, but in this rainy conditions i'd check them every week, that's just me.


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## theawesomefowl (Jun 20, 2011)

I just trimmed my lambs' hooves for the first time ever.


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## TheMixedBag (Jun 20, 2011)

Since all my guys are on a high protein diet, I *have* to trim every 3 weeks, or else I end up with overgrown heels that are practically impossible to trim back.


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## happydodgefarm6113 (Jun 20, 2011)

Quick questions. When the goat is young, only 4 months, does the heel need trimming? Our two only seem to need the front and sides trimmed. The heel hasnt grown. The inside bottom is soft and fleshy. Is that how it should be? Thanks for any info.


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## elevan (Jun 20, 2011)

I had to do my twins first hoof trim when they were very young, something like 4-6 wks old...I had to trim the heel a little at that time but not much.  So I would say that, yes the heel probably needs trimmed at 4 months.

The heel is soft and fleshy before and after trimming.  It should be flat and allow the foot to sit flat and square.  You'll need to trim to achieve that.


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## LadyIsabelle2011 (Jun 22, 2011)

How would you go about trimming the heel...I mean I can see how trimming the tips and sides is pretty straight forward...but I can't see my self trimming that soft fleshy part of the heel at all :/


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## 20kidsonhill (Jun 22, 2011)

LadyIsabelle2011 said:
			
		

> How would you go about trimming the heel...I mean I can see how trimming the tips and sides is pretty straight forward...but I can't see my self trimming that soft fleshy part of the heel at all :/


The heal/soft tissue of the hoof thickens over time, if you only ever trimmed the edes and toe, it wouldn't take very long for your goat not to be walking properly. I like to take a strip off of each side wall at an angle, this leaves a kind of ridge in the middle where the sole is, then I work on the sole taking off layers, until I see the white part of the flesh turn a slight pink, this means you are close to the bleeding point, and you have gone far enough. You want the level of the bottome of the hoof to follow the level of the top of the hoof.

You need to have good sharp hoof trimmers to do a good job.  and have your goat properly secured so you can have a good veiw of the hoof while you are working on it. 

that was probably about as clear as mud, did you try looking up some you tube videos?


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## LadyIsabelle2011 (Jun 22, 2011)

thanks for explaining a little better, I will be sure to look up some you tube vids. for a few visual examples...


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