Everyone wants to look their absolute best when they go to town. Whether it’s putting on your Sunday best or getting gussied up for a night on the town, appearances should and do matter.
It’s no different in the show ring. And though goats are judged on muscle expression, structural correction, balance, and eye appeal, those first impressions make a difference. Goat grooming starts way before you think about making those first entries and even entering that first show ring. Nobody wants to handle a goat with dry, flaky skin or one that has a staph infection. Goats need and deserve that daily care at home as you prep to win for the show.
DuraFerm Knows Goats
At DuraFerm®, we have several team members passionate about goat grooming and showing. DuraFerm is a line of nutritional supplements for sheep and goats that supports optimal digestion and nutrition for maximized performance at every stage of production. That is why we created this blog: to share some valuable information with you.
We are fortunate to have team members who have raised, sold, and shown goats for years. We leaned into one such team member for his experience and expertise in goat grooming. Let’s see what Troy Goretska, BioZyme® Area Sales Manager for Iowa and Illinois, has to say about goat grooming.
Does vs. Wethers
Just like a young lady might spend more time on her appearance than a young man before a night out, the same is true of a doe vs. wether. Undoubtedly, there will be a little more time grooming a doe since she is shown with more hair.
Clipping
For a doe, you will clip her body hair, much like a heifer, leaving hair all over to give her a fuller, broodier appearance. You will want to clip closer on her neck and head and trim her belly hair.
Wethers will be shown with fairly short hair, if not slick-shorn. It is always best to read and follow the rules or premium book for the show you are participating in. Goretska recommends keeping body hair on the wether until closer to show time.
“Goat hair acts as a barrier. It protects the skin, so I’m usually in favor of leaving my goats a little harrier than most,” Goretska said.
Blankets
Another difference between does and wethers is the need to blanket them. It is best to keep your wethers covered with a blanket to keep them clean. However, if you blanket a doe, you will mess up the hair that you have been working with.
The only time you might consider putting a blanket on a doe is during hauling so she doesn’t get dirty or rub on the aluminum trailer.
The Wash & Rinse Cycle
You want to keep your goats as clean as possible leading up to the show. That white skin and hair is no joke. One of the things that goat exhibitors often debate the most is how often to wash and rinse their animals.
Goretska recommends washing your goats with a mild soap once a week. Rinse them every other day and work the skin and hair every day.
To work the skin and hair:
- Blow dry your goat from the front to back
- Brush the goat in the same motion – front to back
- Spray a skin conditioner or sheen on the goat’s body and leg hair
- Brush the conditioner into the goat and let it set
- Blow the conditioner into the goat
Goretska blankets his wethers after he is 100% sure they are dry—both from washing and working hair and skin. To be clear, you should go through the routine of working hair and skin after you wash and blow dry your goat, too.
“Goat hair is coarse by nature. By rinsing it, working it and blowing it, you are softening it and training it. Rinsing it every other day adds to that process of making it trainable and soft,” Goretska said.
By rinsing your goat with cold water every other day, you are promoting hair growth without compromising washing out the natural oils in the goat’s skin. Although they don’t produce lanolin like sheep, they still have a natural oil that helps protect their skin, helps them stay soft, and gives them a natural shine.
Hairy Legs are Finally on Trend
Your mother might have warned you about those girls with hairy legs. However, with goats, the more hair, the better! Leg hair on a goat adds the look of a bigger bone, typically an indicator of a heavier-muscled animal.
As you rinse your animals every other day and work hair and body skin daily, rinsing and working leg hair should be part of the same routine. Rinse the leg hair on the same day you rinse out the goat’s body and wash it the same day you wash your goat. Remember to always blow out your goat before you ever wet it down, regardless of whether you are rinsing or washing.
Once you have their leg hair rinsed, blow it and brush it out in an upward motion to get it trained. Once it is dry, use a small roto brush on it in an upward motion to help “train” it in the direction you want it to go. Even on the days you don’t rinse, blow out and roto brush your goat’s legs to give them a full, fluffed-out look.
To Wrap or Not?
“No. Never wrap goat legs. It will defeat everything you are trying to do,” Goretska said.
Hair has a different consistency than wool. You want to encourage the growth of goat leg hair, and wrapping their legs will not help, especially if you are working their hair daily.
Goretska adds that if goats are penned together and chewing on or picking at leg hair, it is likely a parasite problem—not boredom. He recommends upping your parasite control protocol. Read more about how to prevent, treat mites on goats.
Trimming Hooves
Goat hooves need trimming roughly every 30 days to stay short and manicured. Be sure to have someone with experience show you what to do the first time you trim feet. From there, make sure you trim them about once a month. We recommend not trimming them immediately before a show. That way, you don’t accidentally leave your goat tender-footed and impair its walking.
The Final Preparation
Just before heading to the show, Goretska will trim his wethers with either a covercote blade or an “UltraEdge” blade, leaving between 5mm and 9.5 mm of hair on them. He said that short hair serves as a barrier, helping protect them from any potential skin problems like staph infection.
Nutrition Matters
As we mentioned, DuraFerm is a line of nutritional supplements for sheep and goats that supports optimal digestion and nutrition for maximized performance at every stage of production. It is likely that you would feed your show does DuraFerm as a way to strengthen your stock in their early age.
If you’ve fed DuraFerm to your goat herd, you’re going to love feeding Sure Champ® to your show goats! Sure Champ is a line of products that support the health and well-being of show livestock. Sure Champ essentially helps your animals #PreptoWin, and both brands are powered by AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a research-proven prebiotic designed to enhance digestibility.
Prep to Win With Sure Champ
Nutrients like biotin and zinc, both found in Sure Champ® Extreme with ClariFly®, help enhance the skin, hair, and hoof quality in show livestock, which is important for goat grooming. In addition, protein is an essential building block for hair.
Sure Champ Extreme with ClariFly is a pelleted, daily supplement for show livestock with ClariFly designed to support hoof health, hair coat, and performance when temperatures are above 70 degrees. It contains Amaferm to enhance digestibility and MOS to help normalize gut microflora and support the immune system.
Additionally, it contains HEAT technology, a combination of essential oils and garlic, as well as ClariFly to support animals when heat and insects are a challenge. Remember, keeping your animals cool in the heat promotes hair growth.
“This is the first year we’ve had our small ruminants on Sure Champ Liquid Boost® and Sure Champ Extreme. This is the best-eating set of animals we’ve ever had. And, it is the set of small ruminants with the least amount of skin troubles,” Goretska said.
Sure Champ Liquid Boost is a liquid for all livestock designed to provide immediate support to the animal’s digestive and immune systems. It contains both Amaferm and MOS and flavoring to help drive the intake of feed or water.
DuraFerm and Sure Champ Work Together
As you work on your goat grooming, remember that what you see on the outside—soft hair, good skin—often starts on the inside. It all comes down to quality nutrition! If you raise goats, you should invest in a nutrition program like DuraFerm. That way, you can ensure that your herd gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs.
If your show goat project is seasonal and will only be in your barn for a limited time, Sure Champ is the ideal nutritional supplement for you. Either way, showing goats is a fun project for the entire family.
Order your Nutrition Products from BioZyme Today!
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