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 I’ve written about trimming the goats’ hooves before, but we’ve learned a bit more since then so I thought I’d share. It’s always important to keep their hooves trimmed, but particularly in wet and cold weather hoof care is important. In addition to improper alignment; when it’s wet, poorly trimmed hooves can cause them to slip or lose balance. And in cold weather, dirt and stones can collect and freeze in between the toes. However, trimming hooves is an acquired skill, and can take a bit of practice (in other words – we weren’t doing it right, so here’s how).
Equipment [...]
Continue reading Goat Hoof Trimming
 Memorial Day weekend corresponds with our wedding anniversary; so we’re usually off somewhere celebrating. In the past, we’ve traveled exotic places, seen spectacular scenery, and attended great events. But this year we decided to stay put; and since we rarely enjoy a Memorial Day weekend at home, some photographs seemed appropriate.
The cats, Sugar and Spice, are the ones I miss first when we travel, but I also worry about them least – they’re pretty self-sufficient. They’re sisters from the same litter, although you’d never know it by looking at them.
One reason for staying put this year was to get some ongoing projects done. One of these was installing an automatic chicken-coop opener. With it installed, the chicken coop hatch automatically opens when the sun [...]
Continue reading Memorial Day Weekend
 As we’ve built things on the farm (house, barn, patio, etc.), we’ve collected lots of big rocks and we thought a couple would make good toys for the goats – they love to play; and it will help keep their hooves trimmed. So, the first job for the new John Deere tractor was to move a couple of boulders into the pasture as goat toys. Just getting the first boulder onto the tractor took three strong guys and pry bars (fortunately family was visiting and willing to help).
Once the boulders were loaded, the tractor made moving them a piece of cake - the front fork attachment worked [...]
Continue reading Goat Toys
 Tinkerbell and Bit-O-Honey have been here for just a month, and they already need trims.
Hooves
I bought the “shear magic” hoof trimmer on-line from Jeffers, and used it to trim the girls’ hooves. Using past horse experience, I tried to pick up each hoof and trim it while the goat stood on the other three legs; however, Tink and Honey clearly explained that if I was going to trim their hooves, they were going to sit in my lap. I’m thinking this is going to be difficult if they get much bigger …….and I’ll arrange for someone else to take pictures to show the process next [...]
Continue reading Hoof & Hair Trims
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