# Does Anyone Else Flip Their Goats To Trim Hooves?



## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

To make a long story short... hubby usually helps trim back hooves on the stand, but has been too busy and they need to get done. Two of my girls kick like donkeys and one dang near broke my hand this evening. So... I took away the grain, pulled her off of the stand and for the first time in my life I flipped a goat. I'm sooooo proud of myself...  but I didn't get to her hooves. After she recovered from her shock that she was on the ground she was back to kicking and was getting up. I wasn't sure where I should sit on her. LOL Should she be on her back? Her side? Do I sit at her shoulders facing her rear? I just want to be sure I don't do anything to hurt her.

I still can't believe I actually flipped a goat! ROFL


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## The-bleating-goat-farm (Jul 12, 2013)

My husband and I flip our goats lol but they get kinda crazy so my husband has to hold them I don't know how you would do it by yourself. Maybe lean over them and trim them that way. Our goats tend to give up the fight after a bit.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Lay a knee across their neck and lean you other leg into the back or on thr shoulders.


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

I didn't know you could even flip a goat! Wow, did that put some images in my mind! Hahaha! 

We just clip our goats by the collar to the barn wall while they are standing at their feed on the milking stand, pick up their legs, bend at the knee and trim. I'll have to keep the flip in mind in case we ever get a spunky one.


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

I have a new doe that's a little wild and she kicks on the trimming stand. I have found that if I cross the leg I'm trimming behind her, it keeps her mind more on balancing than what I am doing


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

I've tried every technique there is to get them done on the stand, but it ain't going to happen. I can get through the fronts, but I can't even touch the back without wild donkey kicks. The husband is strong enough to sit backwards on the stand, grab a leg under his arm, hang on tight and trim... Me... there's no way. I almost lost my head.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

lol no cant say we do. Its pretty easy to do with a sheep trimming stand. You just need to know where to put your weight and leg in order for them not to be able to jerk to much. Just need to spend time training em, they will get better the more often you run them through something

Backs are pretty easy. Lift the goats rear end up and put your leg under neath between the stomach and the udder. With full sized goats this either will or nearly lift their hind end off the stand. Lift up a leg, and either bend it so the hoof is up or pull it out from the body with the hoof up. Trim, switch sides, done.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I have seen a youtube video where a guy flips his goat so she is layign against a fence/wall...then leans on top of them and trims....wish I knew where it was but maybe if you have something to brace them against??


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

sassykat6181 said:


> I have a new doe that's a little wild and she kicks on the trimming stand. I have found that if I cross the leg I'm trimming behind her, it keeps her mind more on balancing than what I am doing


:lol:


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I don't see how any of you can trim while they are on a stand. I'm 5'2 110lbs and do it by myself and this is how I do it. For the back I'll have my butt face the goats butt then I pick the leg up and hold between my legs.....like you would a horse. The front I get down on one knee and have their knee rest on my other leg. If they are a brat I'll do the same to the front as I do the back and hold between my legs......works for me and I think its easy that way.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Jessica84 said:


> I don't see how any of you can trim while they are on a stand. I'm 5'2 110lbs and do it by myself and this is how I do it. For the back I'll have my butt face the goats butt then I pick the leg up and hold between my legs.....like you would a horse. The front I get down on one knee and have their knee rest on my other leg. If they are a brat I'll do the same to the front as I do the back and hold between my legs......works for me and I think its easy that way.


That's exactly what I do with the wild ones, works like a charm


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Can you use this for a goat?


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

One of my goats, I do on the stand because she's just easier that way. The rest, I sit down and flip them back so they're on their rumps, legs out in front, and their head completely laid back and under my arm. Works for the ones even with horns. It was a position my angora breeder friend taught me. 

Though, it gives them free ability to chew at my shirt tails or if I have something in the back pocket of my jeans but they're really calm like that. It's easy with the smaller goats, we'll see if it continues to work with the Alpine doeling as she gets bigger.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Jessica84 said:


> I don't see how any of you can trim while they are on a stand. I'm 5'2 110lbs and do it by myself and this is how I do it. For the back I'll have my butt face the goats butt then I pick the leg up and hold between my legs.....like you would a horse. The front I get down on one knee and have their knee rest on my other leg. If they are a brat I'll do the same to the front as I do the back and hold between my legs......works for me and I think its easy that way.


I'm 5 11.....it would kill my back to NOT do it on the stand  But I do have to wrestle a bit with some...


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## HappyHarrisFarm97 (Apr 13, 2013)

Axykatt said:


> Can you use this for a goat?


This pic made me laugh out loud, literally!!!! That sheep looks like its in paradise! Getting a pedicure.... Teeheehee!!!! Very interesting though. We do a team flip, my husband and I. Once the goat is down, I hold down the neck area, sing, stroke, feed leaves... The goat is basically either hypnotized or asleep by the time hubby finished clipping all 4 hooves. It's so cool to see the wild and crazy ones melt in your hands!


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## goatgirl16 (Nov 21, 2012)

Jessica84 said:


> I don't see how any of you can trim while they are on a stand. I'm 5'2 110lbs and do it by myself and this is how I do it. For the back I'll have my butt face the goats butt then I pick the leg up and hold between my legs.....like you would a horse. The front I get down on one knee and have their knee rest on my other leg. If they are a brat I'll do the same to the front as I do the back and hold between my legs......works for me and I think its easy that way.


This is what I do also works well!


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## fd123 (May 29, 2012)

if you cover their eyes..they will calm right down and you can pretty much do whatever you want with them.. Give it a try! Youll be AMAZED!!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If you could tie them so you could pin them against a wall. Do you have a gate that would open that you could put the goat into with head at the tip of the V. So you would be pinning her in on both sides.


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

fd123 said:


> if you cover their eyes..they will calm right down and you can pretty much do whatever you want with them.. Give it a try! Youll be AMAZED!!


Seriously? I have NEVER been told that. It certainly won't hurt to try!


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

ksalvagno said:


> If you could tie them so you could pin them against a wall. Do you have a gate that would open that you could put the goat into with head at the tip of the V. So you would be pinning her in on both sides.


I have had the two difficult ones tied and penned in every way I can come up with, but they literally will stand on their heads kicking if that's what it takes to get me away from their rear hooves.

I tried all the ideas given here today, except for covering the eyes, but ended up flipping the one again this morning and she can still fight me enough I can't get it done.

It's time to call 4H or FFA and find me a strappin' young man to come do this once a month or so.

On the flip side, pun intended, I was able to sit my 4 mo. old ND buckling up on my lap and he fell asleep while I did his hooves. I sat and held him for a little while longer after I was done. It was just so sweet. It would have been more enjoyable if he weren't peeing himself recently however. lol


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

NyGoatMom said:


> I'm 5 11.....it would kill my back to NOT do it on the stand  But I do have to wrestle a bit with some...


Ohh yeah it sucks on the back but since I have daily back pain from being ran over I'm used to it lol. I don't know I just don't see holding the leg up working for me. 
And about covering the eyes that's a old time trick on training horses as well.


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

That pic of the sheep in the sling or whatever you call it is hilarious! :lol:

This reminds me of something cool I figured out how to do recently. 
If you have a goat with big horns -preferably a Nigerian, though I suppose it would work on a bigger goat, though maybe not as well- and you need to give a shot or trim hooves or some such, here's a great way to hold them with very little effort: just bend his horns down till they're on the ground, literally, and put your foot firmly on it. It worked like a charm!! I was amazed at how easy it was to do my chores with him like that! He couldn't move, and behaved perfectly, and he is usually rather skittish.
I have to say I don't know if it would work on a goat with curved horns- his are almost straight up (he's my avatar).


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks for the tip, but they don't have horns.


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

AdamsAcres said:


> Thanks for the tip, but they don't have horns.


Haha, no that's okay! I was just sharing, didn't think it would solve your problem.  It made me laugh.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I tie mine up short to the stall wall and pick their feet up like I would a horse. If they fight I hold the foot tightly until they stop.

I don't like flipping my goats. I am always afraid of them twisting a gut or stomach. I only flip as a punishment if one challanges my authority as absolute herd queen.


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

That's what I was wondering. Should I even do it. After today and it not really working for me any way I won't be.


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

Well, believe it or not... covering the eyes was helpful! I put a few of the ideas together and actually got through doing Abby's rear hooves on the stand. Covered her eyes, put my knee under her between the leg and udder and leaned into her up against the wall. She kicked "some" at first, but none of the wide donkey kicks I was getting before. Whoo hoo! Thanks for all the ideas. While I prefer the hubby do them, I proved to myself I can get the job done. Not as pretty as he does... but it's done!


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## eqstrnathlete (Mar 16, 2013)

My farrier flipped my doe without my consent. And he knew she was 4 months pregnant. As a result she aborted twins that far into her pregnancy!


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

^^^ if we needed someone to come out and do our trimming and if the person flipped our goat regardless of being pregnant or not, he would get a real fast boot to the face with a few more to the gut for good measure. Id of sent him the bill on the two lost kids.


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I would definitely not flip a heavy bred doe, I know with cattle you can't trim their hooves when they are bred (they put them in a chute that will rotate so the cow is on her side), my vet said they can end up with uterine torsion (the uterus flips) which results in a dead calf, a c-section and possibly a dead cow.

To the OP, I would spend some time working on these does picking their feet up in between trims. Take a rope, soft, but slim enough it won't come off, and put it around their ankle (between the hoof and the dewclaws). You can tie a small loop in one end then run the other end through the loop. Pick the foot up with the rope and hang on (it works best if you are standing behind and to the side of them so you have the leg back in a natural position). As soon as the doe stops kicking give her foot back. Repeat this a few times each day with both back feet. This works really well on horses and donkeys. They eventually learn that kicking gets them nowhere and that not kicking means they get their foot back. Since goats are prey animals to them when you have a hold of their hoof you have just taken away one of their defense mechanisms (running from danger). 

They will probably kick and throw a fit and it might take a while before they stop kicking at first, but as long as they aren't hurting themselves, like falling off the stand, just keep hanging on and keep a hold of their foot until they stop kicking.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Jessica84 said:


> Ohh yeah it sucks on the back but since I have daily back pain from being ran over I'm used to it lol.


Care to elaborate??


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Man your cattle trimmers must be decade behind. Lol We've been using the stand-up hydraulic chutes for years and years. So much less stressful and easier handling for the trimmer as well.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

eqstrnathlete said:


> My farrier flipped my doe without my consent. And he knew she was 4 months pregnant. As a result she aborted twins that far into her pregnancy!


............. That for sure would have upset me!


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

Me too!!!


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I trim all my girls on a milk stand...some can kick some, but I get her done..my boys I bring up on a concrete slab that make them higher than me when I stand on the ground..my son holds their collar and I trim...even my 250# saanen stands for me better than a few of my girls...for my kickers I lift the back leg and cradle in on my forearm..my elbow holds strong in the bend of her back leg..we might dance a little but by holding firm she cant do a whole lot..sheep naturally relax when you lay the back..this is how we do their hooves..my son sits on his knees and cradles them, they calm right down..goats are not so relaxed when you try this...I think it can make them more stressed..


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

mjs500doo said:


> Man your cattle trimmers must be decade behind. Lol We've been using the stand-up hydraulic chutes for years and years. So much less stressful and easier handling for the trimmer as well.


lol it's actually the vet that still turns them. They have one of those big hydraulic chutes, but it turns them on their side to trim hooves. lol luckily my beef cows very rarely need theirs trimmed.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Really! Man, vets up in my area won't even LOOK a feet! Best thing we get is "start her on antibiotics" for anything. Warts, white line, sand crack, limping, anything. It's Terrible. Haha!


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## bbellhbl (Aug 1, 2013)

We flip ours but instead of holding the head under an arm, we straddle the goat. The goat's head is upside down staring at a people bum.
There will be NO photos of that posted.
Most of my girls go limp when their weight is on their bum and I bend over to trim all four feet.


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## chuckEboy (Jun 13, 2014)

I found 2 boer goats running loose. Each of them had about 20' of rope tied to their necks. I caught them thinking they were for someone and had gotten loose. After asking around I found out they had been running loose for 3 months and no one knew who they were for. I loaded them up in my truck took them home and built a pen. I know nothing about goats. Whoever tied the ropes on their necks thought it would be smart to tie rope around the bucks feet just above hooves on left side front and back. He will let me pet him but won't let me cut off rope and I know it's starting to dig in his leg. He has nice size horns and has let me feel they could hurt me bad. He isn't mean but isn't a push over. help!?


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Hi ChuckEboy - you are posting on an old thread so you may not get a lot of responses, you might want to start a new thread of your own!

Anyhow - you are going to have to corral the goats in to a small area using a swinging gate to "squeeze" them along a wall or fence line. Or if you have a horse stall you can lure/herd them in to. You are probably going to need a strong helper that straddles the buck and holds his horns tight while you very carefully cut away the ropes. I would have iodine/betadine to flush the wounds and then a antibacterial spray or ointment and a wound fly repellant.

Sounds like they were possible used for goat tying (rodeo sport) or perhaps someone was just being cruel.

Make sure you feed them a good grass or alfalfa hay and plenty of water. Not too much grain. Are they underweight or sickly in a any way besides the rope wounds?


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Agree with salteylove, you need to get those ropes off right away before they cut any deeper and cause permenant damage. The goat will struggle and cry, but it has to be done.

If they've been loose for three months, my guess is that they aren't in good shape. Care to post pics of them? They will need to be dewormed, a ranch supply store will have some. Ivomec, valbazen and safeguard are wormer examples. As said above they need a good hay and loose mineral mix free choice, along with a little grain to start. You can gradually increase it Once they adjust to the new feed. Good luck!


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## chuckEboy (Jun 13, 2014)

thanks salteylove! I am going to try what you said. I will build them a shelter this weekend and try and incorporate some type of corral. They were both a little skinny but I enclosed about a half acre for them with plenty of shrubbery. They have put on weight in the 6 days I have had them and must be happy because the fence is only 4' tall and they haven't tried getting out at all. I bring them fresh hay every evening and have some goat feed I give them as a treat to win them over. The doe is skittish but I get closer every day.


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## grindylo (May 15, 2014)

chuckEboy said:


> thanks salteylove! I am going to try what you said. I will build them a shelter this weekend and try and incorporate some type of corral. They were both a little skinny but I enclosed about a half acre for them with plenty of shrubbery. They have put on weight in the 6 days I have had them and must be happy because the fence is only 4' tall and they haven't tried getting out at all. I bring them fresh hay every evening and have some goat feed I give them as a treat to win them over. The doe is skittish but I get closer every day.


Good luck! That's great you caught them and are taking good care of them now. Looking forward to seeing how things turn out.


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