# Worried about my does hoof



## robin4 (Oct 12, 2013)

When I bought this doe back in August, the lady said her hooves needed to be trimmed. I thought they looked long too, but we thought she was further along into her pregnancy and being in a new place, we wanted to wait till after she had her babies. (my husband was afraid we would have to get rough to keep her still ) Well we didn't know it was going to be 10 more weeks at the time. 

About a week before she delivered, I told my husband we need to go ahead and trim her hooves. She fought us tooth and nail. Finally she fell down on her side and moaned. 

My husband said that was enough for him. "Wait!!! Like I said before"

So she delivered her babies last week and had a week to recover. We trimmed her hooves last night. I noticed before we trimmed, she was limping. I cut them as short as I could without cutting to deep. Three of the hooves look great, but not the one she had been limping on. 

She was kinda walking on the side of her hoof before we trimmed, and still is walking on the side of her hoof. 

Do you think we waited to long? Will she recover?


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## goatgirl2021 (Oct 21, 2013)

It could be a number of things....if she is in a wet place she may have hoof rot or may have hoof rot since you waited a while...since it's just the one foot you may want to take her to your local vet to make sure it's nothing serious.


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

it could be hoof rot. can you take a few good pictures of it? also, check to see if she has sprained something. I have a goat who's limping from a sprain.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Kinda looks like the hoof "toes" are too long, stop trimming the heel. 

It is hard to tell with the hair, but, is that the depth of the hoof itself, the hoof line?

Any foul odor or black, is any hoof wall tearing away from her hoof?


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## robin4 (Oct 12, 2013)

toth boer goats said:


> Kinda looks like the hoof "toes" are too long, stop trimming the heel.
> 
> It is hard to tell with the hair, but, is that the depth of the hoof itself, the hoof line?
> 
> Any foul odor or black, is any hoof wall tearing away from her hoof?


 It stinks...but all my goats feet stink. The smell doesn't make me want to puke. I wish I could post more pic, but my computer is acting up and I haven't been able. The opposite toe on the same hoof is crack about 1 half inch up, but the side walls are not pulling away. Her other back hoof is even longer and this is after I have trimmed. She is almost walking completely on the sides of her hooves in the back, kinda like people standing on the sides of their feet. I actually didn't trim but a thin layer of heel. Her feet were really bad when I got her and I should not have waited on the babies before trimming.

If I keep trimming the toe, will she eventually start standing square and straight?

Looks like she might need a brace. I don't know if they do that for goats or not.


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## robin4 (Oct 12, 2013)

nchen7 said:


> it could be hoof rot. can you take a few good pictures of it? also, check to see if she has sprained something. I have a goat who's limping from a sprain.


 I don't think it is sprain. I seen a split in her hoof about 1/2 inch long right in the middle on the side. I turned her out in a different wooded area with lots of rocky places and I think because her hooves were so long it split. I think anyway.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Hmmm....I'm no pro, but pics of the bottom of her hoof, and another of this angle would be more helpful. Clean the hoof really good, prod around it and see if there are any spots where there could be soft tissue/holes or places on the side where dirt is getting up into the sides of the hoof between the wall and the sole. That is where hoof rot usually shows it's ugly head.

Could be that you waited so long that it made her terribly sore, and it will take time for her to start walking normal again. If it was painful, she may walk that way reguardless. We've had a doe that hurt her foot, and she walked terribly for a couple of weeks, well after it was healed, but just seemed like she was afraid to walk normally and the pain come back or something.

I'd trim a tiny bit once every 10-14 days if it were me depending on how bad they are, and how wet/dry your area is. 

Reminds me our goats are all due for a trim. Seems like we just did them!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

That side is kinda curling under??? Right??? Before I started doing copper boluses I read a lot and those curl hoofs are a sign of copper defecent. I have purchased some like that and after good trimming and copper most have come out of it. I have one that's older and I have tried and tried to fix her but still walks on the sides in the back. I think because she has had her feet that way for so long 
If she has other signs of needing copper I would give her some and just keep trimming every few weeks


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Copper deficiency is possible.

These links may help:
http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/trimminghooves.html
http://www.gorge-usboergoats.com/hoof_trimming.htm

Trimming may help, only time will tell, yes, the toe appears to need trimming, just do it a little at a time. If you just trimmed, wait at least 2 weeks before trying again,
Some goats are very sensitive after trimming, especially with having to walk on rocky terrain ect. They can get stone bruises.

With the cracked hoof, you can take iodine/ water and scrub her hoof with a tooth brush. It won't hurt to do all hoofs.
If it stinks like poo ect that is normal. If it is a nasty rotten type smell it is bad. The iodine/water will help, by doing this daily, until the smell is gone.


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## robin4 (Oct 12, 2013)

Jessica84 said:


> That side is kinda curling under??? Right??? Before I started doing copper boluses I read a lot and those curl hoofs are a sign of copper defecent. I have purchased some like that and after good trimming and copper most have come out of it. I have one that's older and I have tried and tried to fix her but still walks on the sides in the back. I think because she has had her feet that way for so long
> If she has other signs of needing copper I would give her some and just keep trimming every few weeks


 I have no idea if she needs copper or not...how can I tell?


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

Do they have rough coats at all? Fish tails?


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## robin4 (Oct 12, 2013)

Scottyhorse said:


> Do they have rough coats at all? Fish tails?


 Her hair is straight, but quite a bit more coarse than my other boer. No, no fish tail, it comes to a point.

Recently I bought a mineral block. I have four big goats and between the four of them, they had it eaten up in 2 weeks. It was around 18" x 12" really big.

Could she have gotten to much copper?

After that, we switched to a salt lick. It's cheaper and will last forever.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

So you don't have a good loose goat mineral out for them?

She is probably still copper deficient and possibly selenium deficient. The blocks don't give them enough minerals and the salt lick will do nothing for them.

They need a good mineral like Sweetlix Meatmaker 16:8. It needs to be a loose mineral.


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## thomcarol (Feb 3, 2012)

We got a doe who hadn't been trimmed for a while a few months ago. When we trimmed her she limped on one hoof for almost a week. I think they were sensitive since she hadn't been trimmed in so long.


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