Goats feet

Trimmed goats feet yesterday evening... Something that has been needing to be done for a long time. I picked at their feet from time to time but taking care of the calves took high priority...
Had to chase them down many times and did the best I could to run with them all while holding onto the foot... They were tied to their run line, but they still had plenty to go. Charlie calmed down a bit towards the end, started nibbling at me and mouthing me which I kept correcting him for as that quickly turns to biting. Mack was worse! Yeah... He calmed down a bit too towards the end, but I also let him get wrapped around the post so he couldn't move... Didn't stop his mouth from trying to take a chunk out of me multiple times!... I hauled off on him a few times... He has bit me good in the past... Left a fair sized bruise on my chest!... Close to a prominent place. Mack got himself wrapped around good on the pole... I started to feel sorry for him so pulled him loose and retied with a little slack... That is when he calmed down a bit. I had been out with them for over an hour and light was quickly disappearing, so I wrapped things up and fed them.


My first efforts at doing their feet were hampered by not knowing what a goats foot should look like and also not knowing how to use a hoof knife... I have tried many different methods to trim down their feet but to no avail... Last night was a luck shot that paid off... I just managed to get it right and slowly did the best I could to take slivers at a time off their feet... Despite their raising a ruckus!

The hoof knife is NOT an easy thing to master... and one can easily make a mess using one... However, a hoof knife is simple but very powerful tool! Takes a lot of time and patience to learn for both the user and the animals! But well worth it.