# Clipping boer goat does....



## HoosierShadow

So I am full of questions, but just curious.....
I know that your supposed to just clip the long hairs, and just even them up, but me and my husband were talking and wondering.... 

can you use the 'people' clippers on goats? My husband has a set that is fine, but wants to get a new set and we were wondering if it would be fine for using on goats. He has all the attachments. We would love to avoid needing to buy an expensive set just to trim up goats now and then, although I know I'd love to give my buck a good clipping this summer....

Also, how long should a doe's coat be? Most of the does I see look like they have very short coats. 

The earliest my kids would show would be the first or second weekend in June, and their doe's will be 6 months old & others would be around 4 1/2 months old.


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## ()relics

Goat hair is fairly coarse. I would think beard trimmers would have a rough time with them. 
Depending on your area and the type of show you will be attending, there are 100's of methods of clipping does. Some 4H programs prefer the "not alot of fitting" approach but then a sanctioned show would Prefer the "highly fitted" approach. As far as hair length, every goat has a different Hairstyle, just like people. You have to look at the animal and try to choose the best "look" for your specific animal, obviously we are only talking about breeding stock because wethers are always slick sheared. 
I try to highlight the strong points of my does and Cover the weaker points. All my does are clean 2 teated, so I closely trim their udder area and rear around their "female pieces" so the judge has EVERY oppotunity to see her perfectly clean reproductive parts. Also you might want to trim a distinct line between her hoof and leg, again to highlight her "clean" leg. If you think she has a good feminine neck you might want to trim it slightly to again highlight it for the judge to Notice. Like you said clip all extra long hairs, especially around the face areas, trying to blend evrything into a flat looking coat.
I guess you could say that there is no Universally preferred method for fitting a show doe....You may want to grab her and clip her asap, weather allowing, so you get a better feel for how she looks and how you want her to look...Try to do it a long time before your first show, so the hair can grow back if it doesn't look like you wanted it to...Take some notes and pictures then retrim her a week or so before your show....Every show I have ever attended there is always a doe that is "Over fitted/clipped"....I would guess you would have a better shot to win with a doe that came straight out of the pasture than you would by over clipping...At least at the 4H level or local show...JMO...I almost forgot The Most Important Thing....Do Not let a dairy goat person near your goat with a clippers in their hand....I can almost guarentee you will end up with a really nice looking dairy goat when they are finished...


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## DulmesFamilyBoers

Last year was our first year showing at the 4H level. We were the first boer goats at our Sheboygan County Fair, so NO competition. We were not ready to invest in a goot clipper last year so I did like you mentioned, used our old "human kid" clipper for the goats, and bought a new $25 clipper for my boys. It did the trick on our 3 month old kids, but was harder on our yearling doe who had a lot more hair. It worked though. Our first weather we sell this year, we will be buying a clipper! We only had 3 goats to clip last year, but could have 6-8 this year. If I remember right, we just clipped them even, and then cleaned up the long hairs on the face, and definitely in and around the ears. We trimmed the hair at the hoof too, although I would love to hear what the trick is to this. Do you use a scissors or the clipper to get that distinct line at the hoof?


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## ()relics

I take the guard off my clipper and then carefully cut the line...This makes the leg, pastern/fetlock, above the cut looks bigger because the clipper cuts straight down through the layers of hair and then ends abruptly at the hoof... Trying to make some places look bigger and some places look smaller....and alot of show sheen....But fitting is the subject for another thread.


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## StaceyRosado

she is asking about fitting so this thread is just perfect for discussing it. 

I personally have no real knowledege of how to clip a boer goat but I did for my friend's wether and he did well at show. I listened to what other people wrote on the forum and tried to emulate it best I could on their wether. 

Which guard number do you usually use? I am use to both human clippers (Im a hair stylist) and animal clippers (im also a dog goomer) and both of these have differing number systems for the size of the blade guard. So which do you use? a human clipper or a dog/animal clipper? Do you clip with the grain of hair or against? 

I know with humans and a goat dairly clip you clip against the grain of hair creating the shortest clip you can with that attachment. But with dogs you clip WITH the grain. Both give you a much different look. Just wondering how you clip boers because Im sure to have to do it again and I want to do it right.


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## AlaskaBoers

I'll post after school


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## StaceyRosado

Thanks Katrina :thumb:


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## toth boer goats

> I try to highlight the strong points of my does and Cover the weaker points


 I agree....

If you rather have the over all...short hair appearance.... shave the hair down short and close...way in advance of a show... so ...the hair has time to grow back enough.. to make them smooth looking and hide the shaving marks.... :wink:


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## HoosierShadow

Wow thank you all so much! I greatly appreciate it. I will wait until mid April and practice a little on the older does, hehe!!!! We'll see how the clippers work and if they aren't good, then invest in a better pair. I was just hoping since hubby wants to replace them anyway, that we could give it a try with the old pair at least until I have the extra $$ to sink into a nice pair of clippers for animals. Sound like a good idea?

I'm still new at trying to find strong/weak points <I am even lousy with horses - and I have been doing conformation pics for the past 4 years!>.

Knowing what guard size to use would be great, for human and animal clippers.

I know that looking at pictures will help too, so I'll make sure we study pictures before we do it, but just making sure we have the right gear to get started  I know I'll be asking for more advice when the time comes to give it a try, and see what you all think with before/after shots.


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## ()relics

StaceyRoop said:


> ...... my friend's wether and he did well at show.
> 
> Which guard number do you usually use? I am use to both human clippers (Im a hair stylist) and animal clippers (im also a dog goomer) and both of these have differing number systems for the size of the blade guard. So which do you use? a human clipper or a dog/animal clipper? Do you clip with the grain of hair or against?


First off. Clipping a meat wether is simple. He needs to be slick sheared from his skull back. Some people, me included, stop at their hocks and also leave a tail tuft. Simple...shear him as close as you can. I do it free hand with No Guard. You want him to look smooth and the judge to be able to see his flesh and when he touches the goat he wants to feel flesh not fur. Sometime on a smaller wether you can leave the hair alittle longer to make him look bigger. Some shows do not require slick shearing but it is a good idea.
Second trimming does: As I said earlier there is No Universal way to trim them as every animal is different. So I try to trim them All Over in the early spring, like right now. I use a #3 guard because I am not trying to shave them but rather just even up all the hair length. As I trim I try to picture her strengths to faults and begin to , again Picture, how I will give her a final Show Clip. Again highlighting the strengths and hiding the weakness. 
As show day nears, usually 2 weeks or so out, she get her final clip. I want her to have a flat even look with No Long Hairs or "fringes". I want to neatly clip her udder, underside and backside, all to highlight her reproductive organs. I always take extra time to trim a neat line on her hoof junction. So when I am done she looks flat coated and as neat as possible. Some doelings need little trimming, just the long hairs and fringes and reproductive areas while older does can require alot of work. I have and use 3 different guards #1-3 and also trim free hand with no guard at all, What order and exact guard I use is completely random on every goat depending on where I start and the desired look....I trim for awhile then step back to have a look at her. I trust my eye more than I trust a set of step-by-step instructions. The day of the show there is always the extra long hair or "jacked up spot" that needs to be touched up, but nothing major. 
I am attaching a picture of my son's FB doeling. She is just 1 year old in the picture, and is not at all posed, but you get the idea of her flat coat look and her closely trimmed neck and "privates" and her hoof seam...He fitted her himself, he is 12. Kind of scary watching a 12 year old wield a running clippers around one of My does,but he did a fairly good job....Dad only had to "retouch" a few spots when he wasn't looking. She is 2 days away from our fair show. All she needs yet is an all-over brushing and a coat of show sheen. A hoof cleaning and polishing and then off to the ring. Her fault? Legs are too long making her depth look smaller and unfortunately there is no way to Clip that out. She is a different looking animal today. After having twins in November she is better conformed and he will be showing her again this year starting in April. I will be doing the clipping for sanctioned shows.


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## StaceyRosado

thank you -- but I guess you clip WITH the grain (in the direction the hair grows) not AGAINST (in the opposite direction the hair grows)? 

Katrina if you can Im interested in how you do it  

The whole "hide the weakness" part doesnt make any sense to me. So do you leave more hair around the shoulders if they have loose shoulders? Im not sure how that all works.


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## ()relics

slick shear against the gain...evening out with the grain. Meat does need to look "meaty" in the right places, because they are essentially market animal makers. Just a quick example. This doeling is shaved on her neck from under her chin to her plate. She had about 3/8" hair length under her chin to almost full length by the time it gets to her plate. Supposed to make the chest and brisket "Look" bigger. Or you might trim at different lengths if you wanted her topline to look differently. Dairy people like to shave them down too closely so they "Look" skinny and more feminine...Boer People like to leave the bulky look but yet have some feminine look. Understand my son clipped this doe so she isn't the model of perfection but not bad.


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## AlaskaBoers

I'm here! lol, kind of forgot...

OK. So in the spring, I take each doe and wash them very well with shampoo (Tresemme to be exact) lol, and use a blow dryer to get their hair to stand on end. It also keeps the clippers sharp by not trudging through dirt. 
The hair on the feet is trimmed:
I use a T-84 blade, it's made for my clippers, i think it's similar to to a 10. I put the blade right against the hoof and swipe up just to the coronary band. it makes their bone appear larger. I cut and clean up the pasterns and around the dewclaws, gives them a very clean and polished look.
Tail:
Easy, standing from behind, lift up the tail and hold it taught, start near the base and go right alongside the tail, but NOT cutting it too close to the tail, I like to bob them about 1/4" from the tail head and square them, not like dairy goats. Some people say that the longer the tail, the longer the goat looks, but I disagree, the short tail makes the goat look longer, it's not emphasizing the length of tail, and makes the goat look bulkier. 
Butt:
I shape the twist, just cut the hair to lay flat along the twist and maybe emphasize the depth. 
Body:
to the skin on the bottom of the belly... (picture from AABG)








see how the belly is shaved? That gives them a beautiful shape and is very clean!
I've never clipped the necks, but I'm trying it this year.. I think it would look very good to clean up some shaggy necks...








They just clip from the front of the withers down to the chest floor in front of the legs.. I like the look and will be trying it!
Head:
I clean up the long hair on the jaw, the muzzle and horn base are shaved.


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## HoosierShadow

Thank You all so very much! This has been a HUGE help! It will start warming up here enough that in mid April I should be able to start practicing. We'll have at least 7 kids, so we'll start with the non 4-h kids first, hehe!!!


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## AlaskaBoers

good idea!! lol. 
I will trim late April after kidding, that way they can grow out before August shows.


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## ()relics

Nice pictures...But clipping those goats is easy, They have no faults. You simply clip the hair as close as possible, almost like a wether. Now you can see the competition I show against. AABG, Able Acre Boer Goats. We show in the same club,IBGC, as they are from Central Indiana. Nice goats and Nice people , as well. I see you post quite a few of their pictures, Do you know them?


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## AlaskaBoers

nope don't know em. 
They have VERY nice, clear pictures, that's mostly the reason I use their photos for reference. And the fact that they're proven winners backs my theory of clipping lol. 
lol, really I don't have any competition at the State Fair, I'm the only Boer breeder in the area.. I hear there's some up north so I'm taking my herd on a road trip this fall. 
Nice to hear that they're nice people


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## jenparrish24

Question:

I have my first boer show this weekend. I have to clip tomorrow!! I know i should have shaved them long before now, but i have been swamped and i didnt' know what i was doing. I also show dairy goats and know that isn't the way to trim boer does and bucks for show.

Bucks: heads? how do i goat about this do you trim the face or just by the horn base?
Tails? Do you trim the sides and leave a puff at the tip, in some of the pics i see this and some i do not, so is it shaved short on both sides of the tail and top of the tail? 
Body: How short do i clip it? Do i clip it really short on the belly and brisket area? 
legs: do i trim them just to the knees?
Butt: do i just touch up slightly here just getting the longer hair and blending it?

Does
Head: Do i trim the face or just around the horn bases?
Tails: Do i trim them on the sides of the tail and top short and leave a puff at the end of the tail?
Body: DO i trim them short with the grain and how short? Do i trim the brisket, check floor and belly short as well. You dont go as short as the dairy goats correct???
Legs: Do i only trim down the the knees and just touch up longer hairs on the legs if need
Butt: do i just blend this in and not do it short or what do i need to do?

I think i understand the feet just take it to the junction and use just the #10 blade and go straight in with the tip of the blade to make the pastern look bigger and make the bone there look bigger correct?

I am just so nervous. It will be my first ever boer show so any help is appreciated.

Thanks


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