Pedicures for Everyone!

Since the monsoon season started last month, I can't even begin to think about getting in the garden to plant the fall seedlings I've been nurturing on the back patio.  There are other things on the list; however, and one of those things is checking on the goat's hooves.  That seems like an odd thing to have on a list of things to do, but it is necessary.

I can remember when I was in junior high school I showed sheep as a 4-H project.  Sheep are notorious for getting sick, lame, and other ailments. Sheep get hoof rot very easy and it seems like it happens overnight - one day they are fine and the next they are limping and require a good trimming. Goats are no different.

I got Annie and her two girls, Darla and Jane and brought them into the barn. Then I went to the pasture that we have placed the bull, Chuck, and the buckling, Buckwheat, and I brought Buckwheat in as well.  I put the goats in our little goat milking stanchion that I built and described the process in
THIS POST.  I put a little feed in the trough for them to eat on to distract them while I work on their hooves and close the head gate of the stanchion to stabilize them.

I lift up each of their feet and inspect the hooves.  One thing I immediately noticed is that the hooves had grown a little uneven and need to be evened out.  What will happen is the outside of the hoof will grow just a little long and a little 'flap' will create a pocket in which dirt, poop, and mud accumulates. This pocket stays moist and is a breeding ground for bacteria. In fact, if it is bad enough you can smell a putrid smell.

You simply trim the overgrown part of the hoof so that the hoof is straight and even, leaving no place for mud and water and the resulting bacteria to accumulate and fester.  Then I use my goat hoof clippers that I sharpened with a file to trim the pad of the hoof since that will grow uneven.  Sometimes in cleaning up the hoof, they will bleed.  I'm sure it hurts like a hangnail does, but it is necessary to get the job done.  They might limp on the affected hoof for a day, but in no time they are doing just fine.

Now you would think that this would only occur in months where there is abundant rainfall and their feet stay muddy, but it happens in dry weather too.  One thing that helps is to have cement (like concrete culverts) for the goats to climb on as this is a way for the goats to trim their hooves naturally just by climbing on it.

I always use Dr. Naylor Hoof 'n Heel to coat the area that I've clipped to stave off infection in the goat's hooves. Sometimes the goats will kick hard and cause my hand to slip and nick myself with the clippers.  In that case I put a little Hoof 'n Heel on my cut to fend off infection, too. It is not labeled for use on humans, so I hope it is okay.  Come to think of it, maybe it is Hoof  'n Heel that has made me ornery as an old goat!

I did the same thing to all four goats and in no time I was done.  It is not a bad job, but I'm not the one getting the pedicure.  I'll check up on them later and do it all over again in another month.  I wish trimming the cows' hooves was as easy.