[egglady]

our girlie that we've had for about 3 months is down to producing only a pint of milk a day.  When, and how do we stop milking her...as kind of at the point that's it's more hassle than it's worth now...plus we have a freezer full of milk to see us through the winter.

And also she has a sore foot, very smelly.  if she were a horse i'd think she maybe had thrush and if she were a sheep i'd think she had a bit of footrot.

i have long lasting antibiotic but not used it yet - till i 'spoke' to my expert friends...that's you lot by the way!!  can you give me some guidance please folks?  many thanks
laura

[cuckoo]

I don't consider myself an expert only having had goats for a few years but if they have sore smelly feet then I
1. make sure they are well trimmed
2. Scrub them with solution such as hibiscrub to ensure are clean - likely need repeating daily
3. Spray with antibiotic spray
4. Put goat onto clean, dry bedding with ideally clean hardstanding area
5. If persists and treat with antiiotics under direction from my vet

Hope this helps

[ballingall]

Goats can get footrot too! Trim her feet asap and if it looks like foot rot try and keep her feet dry. The UK is not the best place for goats to be going out in the winter as it is so damp- certainly up here anyway! Keep her where she cab keep her feet- if that has to be inside, it has to be inside.

Oh- and follow Cuckoo's instructions- they all make sense!
Beth

[Lesley Silvester]

I would say foot rot too.  One of mine has had it but I manage to control it by regular trimming and purple foot spray.

As far as milking is concerned, you will need to dry her off.  Are you milking once or twice a day?  If twice, I would drop to once.  You'll probably find it will decrease naturally over the winter and you can just stop. If not, just leave a small amount each time and that will help it dry off.

My Flo is down to half a pint once a day and I know that it will go down ovcer the next few weeks so I wil retire her after that.  She is ten and a half and it is four and a half years since she kidded last so she has done me proud.  I'm only really keeping going because she was my first goat and I love milking her. 

[wytsend]

Basically if milking once a day,  then leave her for 2 days,  half milk out. 
Repeat again over the next 2/3 days  & I would expect her to be almost dry.... so just leave well alone now.   The goat will reabsorb any milk in the udder but you do need to keep an eye on it, just in case.

[plumseverywhere]

Our Reggie had a bit of a limp the other week and when I had a close look he had a bit of a whiff around his hoof so trimmed well and had a purple footed boy but all well now 

[jinglejoys]

My goats got footrot when I first moved them here.Bought a bag of Golden Hoof and dipped their feet when it appeared for about a year then gave the rest of the bag away a few years later because I stopped needing it

[Lesley Silvester]

Never heard of Golden Hoof.  What does it do?

[plumseverywhere]

Never heard of Golden Hoof.  What does it do?

was just about to ask the same!!

[egglady]

so it's not just me then

[Lesley Silvester]

How do you put those quotes things in?  You know, the ones referring to what someone else has put.

[SallyintNorth]

Golden Hoof is a zinc sulphate powder which makes up a less environmentally-damaging footbath for footrotty and scaldy-footed sheep (and sounds like goats too) than formalin does.

Formalin works, is simple to use but is noxious to the operator and can be to the sheep, and is very environmentally damaging.  It also causes damage to the hoof if used repeatedly over the long-term, so is not ideal for a routine treatement for breeding sheep, and should not be used by asthmatics or others with breathing issues.

Golden Hoof works if you can use it according to the instructions and is considerably less noxious to the operator but is less simple to use than formalin.  It is less environmentally damaging than formalin on two counts.  Firstly, formalin can only be used once, really, as it becomes less effective against bacteria (though sadly just as quick and horrific at killing amphibians and fish) immediately organic material gets into it - and unless you put nappies on your sheep while they run through it, and wash their feet thoroughly before they enter the bath, it will be contaminated after one use!  Golden Hoof, however, can be reused - the vet reckons up to 5 times - as it is not affected by the dung and urine that get into it.  Secondly, the chemicals in Golden Hoof are less noxious to the environment than formaldehyde - though I couldn't quantify that for you.

HTH