[nchen7]

So I have this doe, Missy. She is a year and 2 months old. about 8 months ago, i noticed she had lost her 2 front teeth. then a few months afterwards, i noticed two more teeth were gone.

there are pieces of teeth in the gum, but i can't be sure if they're new teeth or old teeth that are leftover. nothing seems to have grown for a while, but when i looked today, it seems like the 4 baby teeth that are left shifted further back...maybe to make room for the new teeth?? anything i can do to help her with her teeth? she isn't in pain or anything, and she eats just fine...just wondering if this is normal.

i tried taking a picture, but it's hard to hold down a goat!! attached is the best that i could have done.

also, i'm not sure how to trim her hooves. the tips of the toes curl in. is there a way for me to trim them to help correct it? she also likes to stand on the heel of her hind legs...anything i can do to fix it?

thanks for your help!

 

[mjs500doo]

Not really much you can do about curled toes, curled toes are genetic. Breed up and monitor feet closely, they can get out of hand and get worse (I'm sure you won't let that occur).

As for teeth? Can't really help much in that area but I do know they lose teeth as with other mammals.

 

[nchen7]

I thought there would be a way to trim the toes so they start growing straight....

anyone know anything about my teeth situation? she's almost all gums!

 

[liz]

Is she getting enough calcium with her feed and minerals? At her age, her adult teeth should be there already... does she have loose minerals? I ask because her lack of teeth would make it impossible for her to get what she needs from a block

 

[ThreeHavens]

My doe lost some baby teeth at a year old -- and the curled toes can straighten out. Clip them like you would a normal hoof, it should be okay.

 

[nchen7]

Thanks ThreeHavens!

 

[ThreeHavens]

When I was new to goats, I let one of my doe's hooves got a wee bit too long and it started to curl. I began correctively trimming, and have seen great improvement. Her kids have no issues.

 

[nchen7]

how did you correctively trim? I've been trying to take down some of the inner heel, and take more down by the toe. what else can I do?

 

[mjs500doo]

Hers looks like it's just going to be a clip as you go. I have two does with thin curled inside claws. Both same daddy. Can't really do much else for them other than keep a good eye on em and trim as needed. I'll see if I can grab a pic or two for ya this afternoon.

 

[ptgoats45]

For the teeth, are you using a mineral block, or any kind of block? I have heard of goats (and sheep) having premature tooth loss due to eating on blocks because they are constantly scraping their teeth on them. Those teeth don't look normal at all to me for a 1 year old.

 

[nchen7]

we have loose minerals, but she likes to eat bark. maybe that's what's making her teeth fall out?

no...they don't look normal, but they don't seem to be slowing down her eating. what can i do about them?

 

[GTAllen]

That is a bad broken mouth. You need to trim more off the hoof walls and level the frog with the inside part between the toes. Keep your angle correct with the top of the hoof. Make sure the hooves are level. While you are trimming place the foot down on a flat surface. Be careful and don't take too much off the heal.

 

[nchen7]

Thanks. Yea...her teeth are horrible. she looks like a hockey player.....

 

[nchen7]

oh, and fyi - this is the best mineral supplement that I can find down here.....

 

[cybercat]

What are you doing for copper?

 

[OwnedByTheGoats]

Yeah, what about copper? I see that sheep can eat that, too. That means it contains no copper. That could be why you have the problems. This is what my almost yearling goat's teeth look like. You can see them just at the bottom. She posed for this pic.

 

[nchen7]

i knoooowwww!!!!!!! I've been doing copper sulphate 2x per week, tiny pinch into her food.

trust me. i'm fighting copper issues. there is NNOOOO copper here. no goat mineral, no bolus, NOTHING! i haven't had time to go to the ministry of ag to see if i can have someone mail it to me without having it confiscated at customs.

someone suggested i give my girl Red Cell which has some copper in it, so i started that yesterday.

there is a copper deficiency issue with all goats all over the island, but zero people seem to know that it's an issue in goats. entire country...seemingly no one but me know about this copper thing for goats. what gives???

 

[nchen7]

Yeah, what about copper? I see that sheep can eat that, too. That means it contains no copper. That could be why you have the problems. This is what my almost yearling goat's teeth look like. You can see them just at the bottom. She posed for this pic.

i wish my little yearling has pretty teeth like yours!!!!

 

[lovinglife]

Cow minerals have copper, can you get some of that? OR order in some good mineral?

 

[nchen7]

I've tried looking for cow mineral, but the places I've been to also doesn't seem to have any. there is a cow mineral block that i tried with my girls, but they don't like it (too much salt). i would order, but i think the cost would be way too high. this weekend at the farmers market i'm going to ask the organic dairy farm what they do for their cows, and see if they bolus them if i can get a bolus off of them. but i'm not going to be too hopeful about any of that....

there is pig mineral that has copper in it, but i'm not sure if i can feed that to the goats. next time i'm at the feed store i can take pictures of all the mineral options and get your opinions on them. but from what I've seen, this is the only option.

next time i'm on the mainland, i'm going to bring some boluses back with me, but that won't be for months, and i dont' think they sell them in Canada (tried looking online and nothing). no plans on travelling to the US, and no American friends are planning a trip down anytime soon.

i'm going to try to go to the ministry of ag tmr and ask about someone mailing me the bolus. hopefully it'll be no problem.

sigh...so hard to get stuff you need living here...for goats and for people!