Goat care: Handy Equipment for your Goat barn
Shearing ,Trimming & Fluffing
For electric shearing, we use the Lister clipper by Wahl with A2F blade. The Lister clipper is exactly 2” wide and works great for taking the 2” square samples needed to accompany your PBA permanent registration application. We have our electric clipper blades sharpened annually at Primier1 Supplies. We sharpen the hand clippers ourselves most of the time, Primier1 offers sharpening services for hand clippers as well.
Most county fairs or fiber fairs have professional shearers who often drop in on the final day of the fair to offer shearing services. SAFF, for example, always has shearers available on Sunday for a very reasonable fee. These are professionals who often shear mainly sheep. This is a great opportunity for newbie Pygora owners to take advantage of and learn. We have taken advantage of this shearing opportunity at fairs many times for the speed, low cost, and convenience of the shearing.
The major disadvantage of having your Pygoras sheared on site at fairs is that owners must scoop up all the fiber sheared from each animal and quickly stuff it into plastic bags that they bring with them without first sorting out the better quality fiber from the barrel or removing some of the more soiled fiber.
The greatest advantage to shearing at home, is that owners can take their time and skirt the fiber as they shear. Plus, you can be more careful not to nick the goats; big sheep shears are more likely to leave nicks than the small goat shears that we use at home. After the bloody mess of having wattles cut off two of our Pygora goats after warning the shearer that the goats had wattles, we decided not to use the speedy shearing service offered at fairs again.
You can do it yourself! Our goats had pretty uneven clips and looked a little ragged for a few days the first year we clipped them ourselves, but you get good at it quickly after watching a few googled videos of Pygora goat shearing, plucking or combing.
I love to pluck my Type C fiber to leave as much of the abundant guard hair on the goat as possible. Some Pygoras with super soft Type B fiber that is on the Type C end of the spectrum can also be plucked to leave most of the guard hair on the goat. I put my goats in the stanchion, bribe them with food and pluck until they let me know they have had enough. We do this daily for 2-5 days with gorgeous results. Just wrap the fiber around your index finger, hold it in place with your thumb and tug. If it releases easily and is 3.5" or more long, it is ready to be plucked.
Using Hand Clippers
Dematting Fleece, Trimming Hooves
For hand shearing, we use No. 10 Producer’s Pride Double Bow sheep shears then touch the goats up with the Lister electric clipper for aesthetic purposes. The hand shears are super sharp and are great for cutting sample locks or for cutting those coveted Type A crafting curls.
Dematting Fleece, Trimming Hooves
Dematting Fleece, Trimming Hooves
We have found that the Safari dematting comb for dogs works great for stubborn mats in goat fleece but is very sharp and should be used with care. We often wear leather gloves when dematting fleece or trimming hooves.
For routine hoof trimming, we use Saboten 1210 hoof trimmers.
Take your time to clean and trim hooves to make them flat. We do keep Blood Stop on hand in case we trim a bit too deep. I sit backwards on the stanchion with the goat and hold the hoof under my arm to trim rear hooves. We sometimes use a hand-feld rasp to smooth the hoof. A neighbor uses an electric rasp found in the quite expensive Hoof Boss Basic Battery Operated Goot Hoof Trimmer Set.
Blue Cactus Dairy Goats has an informative video on hoof trimming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9cY-7Gqgho
Cornell University has guidelines on hoof trimming.
Fluffing Fleece
Fluffing Fleece
One can never have too many picks for cleaning, fluffing, and plucking fiber. We purchase our picks at Sally Beauty Supply; they do not believe me when I tell them that the hair picks are for use on my goats.
When a nice bath and/or a quick dematting or fluffing does not tease out the mats, it is time to shear and start over on the fleece growth. You may fluff your goats to your heart's content, but they only really need a bath when they are visibly muddy or starting to mat. Even mud after a rain will often blow out with a grooming blower, a mini shop vac, or a leaf blower without a bath.
Pygora goats have little to no lanolin in their fiber, so avoiding washing the natural oils out seems like a good idea to me. After a bath, I try to allow at least 3 days for the natural oils to replenish before shearing or before a show.
A Good Stanchion is a Much Needed Piece of Equipment
We have 3 stanchions, 2 in the girls' barn and 1 in the boys' barn. Our newest stanchions have a base that measures 32"Wx40"Lx30"H with a single, bottom hinge-point for the neck adjustment. We do our hoof trimming, regular health checks, and shearing from the stanchion. Most stanchions for sale in caprine catalogs are milking stanchions and are not high enough for fiber goat work. I prefer to skirt fleece on one stanchion while the goat is being sheared on the other stanchion. Skirting can be back-breaking work if your stanchion is too low.
Our first homemade stanchion had double side-mounted hinge points. We use a step for enabling our older goats better access to the stanchion. Our 12 year old wether, Michigan still hops right up on the stanchion for his nightly mealtime, which guarantees the does a chance to eat in peace without worrying about the food hog taking over their feed dishes.