Goats are high maintenance! They have to have their little hoofies trimmed twice a year and they need special diets to ensure they get all they require. Poorly fed goats get sick and die, just like that. They also need excellent worming schedules or the worms will literally suck the blood out of them, leaving them anemic and likely to die if not caught early enough. But...
They are cute and friendly and curious and comical and give good milk and are simply enjoyable and lovable.
So yesterday, it was day two of hoof trimming. I managed to catch the most friendly ones and do their feet a few days before, but the rest suspected something was up and they decided not to come anywhere near me. Travis helped me corner them and catch them. Bending over is hard when you have to do it for a long time, so I sat, or sort of laid and trimmed the toes. The two Angora goats that I had not caught the days before, also need their fiber trimmed around their rear ends and down the legs. They grow such thick fiber that it acts as a strainer for anything that comes its way, in this case feces and urine. The urine salts build up to a septic lump, GROSS! and the feces will collect and clump all the way down the legs. Breeding season is coming up, so a nice clean bottom gives the girls a good chance of pregnancy without the introduction of unwanted bacteria. I cannot say it is easy, but it is rewarding.
They are cute and friendly and curious and comical and give good milk and are simply enjoyable and lovable.
So yesterday, it was day two of hoof trimming. I managed to catch the most friendly ones and do their feet a few days before, but the rest suspected something was up and they decided not to come anywhere near me. Travis helped me corner them and catch them. Bending over is hard when you have to do it for a long time, so I sat, or sort of laid and trimmed the toes. The two Angora goats that I had not caught the days before, also need their fiber trimmed around their rear ends and down the legs. They grow such thick fiber that it acts as a strainer for anything that comes its way, in this case feces and urine. The urine salts build up to a septic lump, GROSS! and the feces will collect and clump all the way down the legs. Breeding season is coming up, so a nice clean bottom gives the girls a good chance of pregnancy without the introduction of unwanted bacteria. I cannot say it is easy, but it is rewarding.
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