# foot rot



## mersydo (Jul 15, 2010)

what is the best way to spot foot rot in boer goats? and how do you reccommend treating it?


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I am new to goats, but not new to hoof rot. I rescued a doe that had it severely.
First, when you clean the foot, does it smell HORRIBLE? Does it have any black tissue or stuff on the foot? Anything noticably different compared to other feet? --- the smell should be the key factor though...no mistaking it.

If your goat has hoof rot, you have to cut away all the dead stuff and clean out all the bacteria. I used a spray bottle with bleach/water/dishsoap. I also know people that will use a little bit of straight bleach on the foot - it burns but it cleans it real good.

At your tractor supply or feed/farm store you can call or go see if they have something called Koppertox or Thrush XX - same product just different name - and Thrush XX is cheaper. It's a sealant and works wonders on hoof rot and hoof scald! Thanks to everyone on this site for recommending the stuff to me. 
Clean the foot out, spray or pour on some of the Koppertox or Thrush XX, and I hold the foot up for a couple of minutes to let it set in. Do this treatment once a day IMO until you notice improvement.

Do you live in a wet & humid climate? It's very important to keep the foot dry and allow as much air to get to it as possible.
If the ground is real wet and you can't get the goats out of it, get some pallets <they are free>, and lay them out for your goats to walk on so they aren't in the mud. My goats LOVE pallets. In fact any time I get any extra they knock them over so they can climb around on them  My husband also put rocks all around our mini barn, so they are walking on the rocks when it rains instead of the mud.

If you don't see anything noticable - your goat could have an abscess too. Abscess' can be very painful. They are like a blister in the hoof wall. You can use something such as a horse hoof pick, and feel around the edges where the hoof wall meets the bottom, and find any cracks or crevasses or anything soft, and see if the area is painful when you put a little pressure. If so, there could be an abscess, and it needs to be opened and drained to give your goat relief and start the healing process.

I have a doe who had an abscess thanks to hoof rot a couple of months ago. It was hard to get to, and I had to open it up a few times before it really started to get better.

You can soak their feet to draw out an abscess as well - epsom salt and warm water is what I've used - that is if you can get your goat to stand long enough. We had a good patient considering she was terrified of us, and was in a lot of pain.

Now back to hoof rot...
If you live in a muddy area and can't keep the foot clean or dry, you could also treat with the bleach and or/ Koppertox or Thrush XX, and put on a hoof pack. You can use an absorbant pad and duct tape - or what I prefer using - a poultice pad called 'Animalintex.' I know I have found Animalintex at Tractor Supply, and all our local farm supply stores <but I live in horse heaven so I don't know how easy it is to find>. Just cut a small piece to cover the infected area.
For bad feet in wet area I recommend changing it every day - if the weather isn't real bad, and the foot isn't too bad, every other day. I've used this method as well and it works great.

Another product you can use on dry days or in hoof packs is Thrush Buster - it's real good too and we use it for a variety of things.

Anyway, I hope this can help! I thought for sure the doe I rescued would not live her foot was sooo bad, and she could hardly walk.
When I sold her, she was one trim away from having perfect feet, you'd never have known anything was wrong with her.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

BTW check out this thread, I have pics of the feet of the goat I mentioned, and there is other good info there as well 
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14948

Pics are on pages 3, 5 and so on.


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