Most environments are not perfect to keep your Nigerian Dwarf Goat's hooves worn down properly. This means that you will need to check and trim when needed. You can view the proper method for trimming goat hooves in the video and we will answer some of the most common questions on goat hoof care below.
What do you need to trim goat's hooves?
Leather gloves to protect your hands from possible injury.
Safety Glasses to avoid getting any debris or clippings into your eyes.
A good hoof trimmer - you can see the one we prefer in our video above.
We also use our milk stand to hold our goats in during trimming. There are also stands designed for holding goats for trimming hooves. If neither of these are options work for you, then you can just tether the goat to a post during trimming.
How often should you trim goat's hooves?
This will very greatly on the goat and the conditions they are in. I suggest checking every month to make sure they are not getting to long and trim as needed. The weather can play a great roll in this also. If the ground is moist and soft then you will have to trim your goat's hooves more frequently. Younger goat's hooves tend to grow quicker so they will have to be trimmed more often then older goats. It also will vary greatly per goat as each goat's hooves grow at a different rate. I would not recommend trimming before 3 weeks and you kids quick is much closer to the surface so great care needs to be taken when trimming baby goats.
Is there anything I can do to help the goat's hooves wear down faster?
Absolutely! Get them toy's that have a rough surfaces to help them wear their hooves down. This can be large boulders (one of the the things that they use in nature) for them to jump back and forth on. You can make ramps and tables applying coarse tread on the ramps to wear down their hooves. Basically anything that has a "sandpaper" roughness that they would like to play and jump on can help in this manner.
Another great way is to keep their pen DRY! Mucky area's are not only are a breeding ground for bacteria that can cause issues such as hoof rot and hoof scald, but it also has nothing in it to wear down their hooves. This means keep dry bedding down in their house. We use a mixture of pine chips and oat straw. If their pen is more clay and gets really mucky in wet weather then a great option is bringing in sand/gravel mixture in those areas to help it drain, keep the area dry, and is more "sandpaper" to help wear down the hooves.
Why is it important to trim goat's hooves regularly?
Two of the biggest reason's are:
Hoof Rot or hoof scald. Both of these issues are more likely when hooves are not trimmed, the animal is kept in a moist area (mucky areas), and proper hoof nutrition is not met. With frequent trimming it eliminates any area for bacteria to grow. Treatment can start right away if you see any signs your animal may have the start of it (it is much easer to treat at the start then when the animal is already lame). This can also warn you to check the animal for other nutritional or parasite issues as an animal is more likely to develop when mineral deficient or has a parasite overload. We will go more into hoof conditions and nutrition in later posts.
Lameness. If you let the goat's hooves get too long then it can actually damage the goat's joint's (which can be permanent if the hoof care is neglected long term). It can cause the goat to not be able to walk properly and cause the goat pain and suffering on a daily basis.
What does a completed hoof trimming look like?
Your goal for trimming goat's hooves is trimming the hoof wall, then trimming the heal down so that the hoof is flat, and there are no crevasses for bacteria to grow in.
Here are some examples of before the hoof is trimmed, after the hoof wall is trimmed, after the base is leveled out, and what the hoof looks like when completed and the goat is standing.
***Disclaimer: We are simple farmers and not veterinarians. This is for informational purpose only. What we do on our farm may not be what is best for your farm so please do your own research. This is not intended to replace professional veterinary and/or medical advice. We disclaim all liability in connection with the use of these products and/or information.