[Tree Farmer]

Thanks so much to everyone for your help on the AN hooves problem thread. I am really grateful. I think it's a complex situation of laminitis, footrot / scald, bruised soles. Perhaps low levels of all of them as this is not acute at all, but chronic.

So, I am planning to cut out concentrate entirely to treat for laminitis - and probably better improve all round, I think I have been over feeding. But I have ordered some Brinicombe's supplement so how do I get this into them? Maybe I can add to some readigrass or something? I'll play around...

BUT my main question here is regarding the Golden Hoof Plus I have ordered for foot bathing. How do people manage footbathing their goats?

I only have the two so a race is a bit OTT, is it just a case of a bucket, one hoof at a time?

Thanks again everyone.

[Womble]

Don't laugh, but the best method I've found for treating individual sheep is to make up the solution in a child's wellie, then hold the hoof in the wellie. (The flexibility means it works much better than a rigid pot, since you can hold the top of the wellie closed around the leg. This means they can kick all they like but can't knock everything flying  .)

[Thyme]

I don't have goats (yet!) but for my smallish flock of sheep the cheap footbath solution I found was these Garland 1.2m square trays.  They're sturdy enough to hold up and a good size to fit hurdles around.  And they double nicely as duck paddling pools.

[Anke]

I would do individual feet as Womble says. I have used milk bottles with the bottom cut off, lid securely screwed back on of course and then had a handle to hold sheep's foot in it. I have used "Lameless". But goats will probably kick a lot more, so something flexible (and you want to wear gloves for this!) and a second person to help holding the goat may be better.

You could try and give the goat balancer with a small amount of soaked sugar beet shreds. As it will have a strange (for them) taste I would start with really small amounts, but maybe they do like it. I give mine some garlic and seaweed like this. For the really picky ones I dribble over some virgin olive oil to mask the taste.... the length's a goatkeeeper goes too.... - it's unreal at times...

[Tree Farmer]

Thanks everyone, great ideas.

Thyme my goats are too big for this I think - and it would involve me having to build some kind of 'wall' around to have a hope of getting them to stand in it. It would work for smaller more malleable goats though I'm sure.

So I think it will be the welly boot / milk carton approach. It's going to be tricky. The stuff I've ordered is basically zinc sulphate with a surfactant that apparently helps it to penetrate - it's fume free so that's something but I can't imagine I'm going to get through this unscathed.

My other half will be helping, he has to when it comes to hoof trimming too as I can't manage them on my own.

I went to the Three Counties Show over the weekend (I was stewarding Dairy Goats) and I was constantly amazed at how much smaller most breeds are than my ANs. What was I thinking, ha ha...!

[Talana]

also zinc oxide nappy cream is soothing for them

[Lesley Silvester]

Don't laugh, but the best method I've found for treating individual sheep is to make up the solution in a child's wellie, then hold the hoof in the wellie. (The flexibility means it works much better than a rigid pot, since you can hold the top of the wellie closed around the leg. This means they can kick all they like but can't knock everything flying  .)

Sorry, Womble. I couldn't help it. I    I have this lovely image of goats in wellies, sloshing around. If only I could draw.

[farmvet]

if you're planning to do each foot individually you could try dog paw washers

[Womble]

How do you think I feel Scarlet?  We don't have children, so I had to go out and buy a pair of child's willies especially.

Hang on a sec, my computer just autocorrected willies to willies.
Willies. WILLIES!!!  Darn. I hate technology!  .

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Don't laugh, but the best method I've found for treating individual sheep is to make up the solution in a child's wellie, then hold the hoof in the wellie. (The flexibility means it works much better than a rigid pot, since you can hold the top of the wellie closed around the leg. This means they can kick all they like but can't knock everything flying  .)

Fantastic idea!

[Womble]

It wasn't original - I'm sure I got it from a thread on here somewhere.

BTW, why will my computer let me type wellie, but not willies ( again)?  Weird eh?

[Tree Farmer]

I'm just off into Ledbury to run errands - which includes buying a pair of children's wellies!!!

The Brinicombe's supplement has been delivered so that starts tonight, and I have started reducing concentrates, will do this over a few days.

Also, did a bit more inspecting last night (and tiny trim - just milimeters off one hoof) and found it really beneficial to bathe hooves in a warm water and towel dry first. Made it so much easier to see what was there.

Am so grateful to you all :-)

[Beeducked]

I don't have goats (yet!) but for my smallish flock of sheep the cheap footbath solution I found was these Garland 1.2m square trays.  They're sturdy enough to hold up and a good size to fit hurdles around.  And they double nicely as duck paddling pools.

I also use a small tray (it's actually the base to an old plastic hutch). Yes, you use a lot more stuff than in a bucket (or wellie!) but I have found it a lot easier and quicker to get them to just walk into it (took a bit of wrestling the first few times but now they know they get treat so just step in!).  2 minutes is fine for scald but if they have foot rot it's half an hour which might be a bit tedious one foot at a time!!!

[Lesley Silvester]

How do you think I feel Scarlet?  We don't have children, so I had to go out and buy a pair of child's willies especially.

Hang on a sec, my computer just autocorrected willies to willies.
Willies. WILLIES!!!  Darn. I hate technology!  .

    I laughed so much that I am crying. Need a wee now. 

[Rupert the bear]

I have to wonder how the child feels about wearing wellies that are cast offs from the goat?!?!?!

should be fine , just a big kid after all