How to Trim Goat Hooves

Goats hooves have a horny outside layer and, like horses hooves and human nails, their hooves need to be trimmed on a regular basis. In the wild, rocks and other rough surfaces would naturally "trim" the hooves, so depending upon your geography, you may see differences in how often you will need to trim.

However, the domesticated goat needs assistance with hoof maintenance and neglect of duty can cripple the goat. Luckily it's a simple job that for urban farmers a few minutes a month with their small herds.

How often to trim?

How long depends on how quickly their feet are growing whi, but with a watchful eye, about every 6 to 8 weeks is a good average. However, remember to check hooves every couple of weeks. Catching a problem early on will make it easier to solve for everyone. Also, goats hooves will growth at different rates during:

Different seasons
Depending upon nutrition
Where the goat is in its growth cycle
Different geographies - soft soils will not wear down hooves as much as rocky soils or where the goats have the ability to climb on objects
Pregnant does' feet sometimes need additional attention with the added burden of the extra weight on their legs

Necessary tools

Hoof trimmers, also known by sheep people as "foot rot shears".These can be purchased either at a feed store or online. Sometimes they are a bit difficult to find locally, so start shopping for them before you need them.
Horse hoof pick with a brush is helpful for picking out and brushing off dirty feet, but if the hooves are trimmed frequently, this shouldn't be a big problem.
A plane: Some people also like to use a plane to smooth the hooves for finishing or for light trim work that doesn't necessarily call for the shears. Lastly, there are other tool alternatives, but this is the easiest and safest way for both you and the goats. It may be helpful to wear gloves.

Trimming hooves

Trimming Hooves Video

Step by step instructions

Secure the goat. For goats over approximately 50 pounds, it is much easier to trim hooves in teh milk stand or other apparatus that will allow you to lock the goat into a position. Even with youngsters, an assistant is helpful, as the shears are sharp and a quick jerk of a leg can quickly misdirect the shears and result in injury to the persons or goat.
For the back legs, face the back of the goat, grasp a hind leg and pick it up between your legs. For youngsters it may be easier to bring the leg forawd, as demonstrated in the video.
For the front legs, bend the front leg backwards at the knee. Some goats will scream incessantly while others won't. If the goat does protest vehemently, change the position of the leg a bit and see if that helps. Some goats, like people, are more flexible than others.
Brush off any dirt, excrement, etc with the hoof pick brush so you can see what you are working with.
Cut off any of the outside layer of the hoof that has grown beyond the fleshy part of the foot
Trim off the point of the toe.
Check the heels and see if they need trimming or smoothing.