The importance of hoof care

The importance of hoof care

Baby Feet

The most perfect foot alignment and confirmation can be best illustrated by studying a newborn Boer goat.  From there, just like fingernails and toe nails they just grow and grow. Depending on the median that are in the goats’ environment, the hooves could be worn down naturally or they may need to be trimmed periodically. This is true no matter what the purpose of raising the goat is. Of course, if a goat is raised for the show arena, this process will be more tedious for the end result. That is not to say that during the entire life of the goat, foot health is of utmost importance. If a goat is used for breeding, both the doe and the buck must have useful, healthy feet.

Many diseases and discomforts can be linked to poor foot care. Infections can brew after months of manure festering in long hoof growth. There are products available to remedy these conditions but the best remedy is prevention. Does with poor foot health may not be able to nurse their kids properly.

Another problem or situation arising from leaving hooves get out of control is not being able to restrain a rapidly growing animal. If we are keeping bucks for breeding we find it beneficial to handle them often enough that they do not panic when we are trimming hooves and other maintenance jobs. In Pennsylvania the seasons do not lend themselves to putting the goats outside year round and that necessitates trimming more often. It is a time we can get our hands on the animals and make sure we are not dealing with other health issues. Stay tuned for  a more in detail post as to how to accomplish proper hoof trimming and foot care of your goats.

The best thing I have learned raising Boer Goats is that there are many great folks in this business. Any one individual cannot be knowledgeable of everything in a livestock operation and it is important to have associates to have input. It is also good to have reliable contacts to go to when a particular piece of equipment is needed. As prepared as we all try to be, the one gadget we don’t have on hand is the one we end up needing.

At K and K Livestock in South Fork, Pennsylvania I am very proud and happy to say that we have countless friends and associates to confer with and talk to and share tips with. I do feel that this fellowship that exits in the boer goat business is very much a perk. It takes many different views and opinions when you are showing animals and because the show goat industry is relatively young the methods differ and change regularly. I am a believer that sharing information and knowledge will always be beneficial and I am always thankful to be the reciprient of assistance.

A heartfelt Thank You to those who have helped me in the past.

And so, you would think I would be happy to take a few weeks. I am on the third week and when I am turned loose, you know where to find me….in the barn! Whether I am needed or not!

Where Have You Been?

On the subject of socializing, we have discovered that in the process of transferring goats from one environment to another as in moving them from the birthing stalls to the common pens, it is best to move the most dominant ones last. It prevents the bullying in many cases. We think it is the idea that the ones placed in the new place first claim it as their property and establishes their aggressiveness first before the alpha goats get there. Any time we do anything new we make sure to check them periodically for problems. Catching them early is better than finding a disaster later!

I am of the opinion that an extra 10 or 15 minutes at the end of the feedings observing the goats after they are satisfied and quiet is a valuable to tool for health and welfare.

Every spring a returning Cardinal shows up in trees outside our barn. I named him Charlie after a parakeet we had as children. Charlie knows where to come to pick up pieces of corn and oats as a result of fallout from feeding the goats. This year in addition to Charlie we also aquired a bluebird family and they found the self feeders as well.

Sometimes I don’t see Charlie at first on my way to the barn so I call his name. After a few minutes he swoops down and perches on the trees where he can quickly pick up his snack. What a privledge it is to be able to participate with these beautiful citizens of nature.

Showing at the Farm Show

As more and more time is spent observing my caprine collection, I have enjoyed learning many aspects of getting closer to their means of communications and their individual personalities. Boer Goats have as many various personalities as there are goats. Much like raising children, in order to maximize their potential as show goats one must understand these differences as much as possible. For instance, one goat may tolerate a humans presence in her personal space and maybe even welcome it where another is just totally annoyed by your presence. If you want to use the goats as show animals you need to take time to know how to handle them instead of just pushing them around. While showing Black Angus cattle, our family learned that there were some animals who you just could not muscle into what you needed them to do. The same is true with Boer Goats.

Another example is the bullying incidents. Intervention must be done cautiously because you may make things worse if there is too much human interferance. Some other examples are seen during the kidding season. There are does who welcome assistance readily and others who abhor human presence. Usually the ones who do not want you in the pen have not been handled much.  This underlines the importance of taking the time to know any animals and slowly introduce yourself to their environment.

The best way I have found to render assistance is to observe what is needed.  Again, it may depend on the doe. Some circumstances call for action no matter what the doe wants and examples are: if the doe is having problems in delivery and you must turn the kid for better presentation for the birth. Another, if the doe is caring for the first born and a second is on the way, sometimes you need to remove the mucus from the second to start them breathing properly and then begin drying it off, especially if the birth occurs in our cold Pennsylvania weather. In this case you do what is needed, place the kid where the mother can finish cleaning it and get out of the way.

Other instances of learning by simply observing: When goats are irritated they spit or snort. If I am in the process of distributing hay or food and they rush me, I turn around and make this sound at them and it is more effictive than any other aggressive behaviour. In order to learn these cues it is necessary to spend time and pay attention to the animals. Following their lead will allow you to put yourself in their world rather than ‘pound’ them into our human existance.

On a more entertaining note, I have spent time just letting the babies hop and jump all over me when they are 3 or 4 days, they are very amusing. If you respect the mamma and treat them well, most of the time you are welcome into their world.

In the process of raising any species it really makes life much easier for both the animal and the handler to respect the animal and pay attention their ques. Consequently when you do need to force your intentions on them it is much more effective.

Newly Introduced to Breed Pen

Does minding their own business

It has become quite obvious as we raise Boer Goats for show and  in the process of observing the goat family how natural bullying occurs in living beings.  It is not clear if this is a flaw in a personality, a result of genetics or a learned behavior but certain individuals carry this trait and pass it on as well. Some hardliners thought process is to keep all animals together regardless of  the behavior, however at K and K Livestock in Pennsylvania we have provisions to care for the less aggressive animals if we see they fall victims to the bullys. While we do want to care for the boer goats used for show goats, we will not tolerate any animals being abused, even if it is at the ‘hands’ of the same species.

Recently we had four does who were separated for a period of time and then were re-introduced to the herd in common pen of 16 does. The does who were previously in this pen co-existed relatively peacefully as long as the territory and space of the alpha goat was respected. The alpha doe’s name is Phoebie and is one of my original breed does. She is an excellent mother and produces outstanding offspring. Phoebie has exceptionally long horns and she knows how to use them.

When the four younger does were placed in the common pen we noticed that they were being shoved out of the feed trough and the hay feeding area. Consequently as part of our feeding protocol we allowed extra time to ensure that the four passive does get ample time to eat. As this time was spent babysitting the following was observed:

As long as someone was in the pen the rest of the herd left them eat. If we jumped to the other side they are smart enough to realize we could not stop the bullying. There were occasions where it was necessary to tie Phoebie, not because she physically did anything to them but intimidated them by her looks. At these times her loyal subjects were willing to do her dirty work for her. If Phoebie were tied, the loyal does would not eat even though there is plenty of food and room for all. It seemed that they were simply loyal to her quite like a gang in exchange for protection.

Eventually most goats meld into the herd an learn to defend themselves. Once the alpha animals realize that they are left alone. From time to time it is necessary to separate one from the herd for their own safety.

Phoebies daughters all exhibit the same agressive behavior. Experience has taught us that introducing the agressive animals last prevents some of the bullying scenarios.

All of the observations are valuable education tools. I have come to enjoy this as an everyday activity and many times have found that what is observed has come in handy during occasions of handling the goats.

Remember the saying “When the apple is ripe it will fall, referring to an expecting mother? When we are talking about goats that translates to “When I am good and ready I will give birth”.

There are plenty of signs that will predict or detect that a doe will be presenting those precious packages but any one of them can be immediate or somewhere from the next to days to weeks. And a concientous breeder will watch and wait through all hours of the day and night.  These signs may include the way the doe is standing or swaying and even chattering to herself. There are others but that may be for a different kind of post.

At K and K  Livestock we have had the typical Pennsylvania unpredictable weather and we want the babies to be warm and dried off when they are born. Sometimes if one is born and the doe is anxious until any multiples are also born the first one may lay wet. We try to start the process being careful not to interfere too much.  The act of licking them off by the mother allows bonding to occur as well as other beneficial side affects. The substance she is removing is protein.

With Boer goats that one is intending to register and use for show goats the ears also must be dries and smoothed down or they may dry folded together and stick that way. That is another reason to dry them. We have individual warming lights in each birthing stall so the mothers may have privacy for this miraculous event. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it, it does not get old….I just have to wait for it sometimes!