The Goats Get A Beard Trim

Some goats have beards. Mine do. Pip’s gets really, really long.

In the winter, when he drinks, it turns into a beard popsicle. Pip has a thick winter coat that keeps him toasty warm, but I can’t imagine that having an icicle hanging from his chin is comfortable. So, before winter truly sets in, I trim off the goats’ beards.

Goats hate having their beards tugged. To cut a beard, you have to hold the end with one hand and wield the scissors in the other. The goats try to avoid getting haircuts. Their behavior reminds me of when my son was three and he shrieked and twisted in the barber’s chair.

Lollipops worked for Daniel. I tried distracting the goats with parsley.

I got a few snips in, but they eat fast.

I put some hay in their manger.

I had to rethink that. Obviously, I couldn’t reach their chins. I moved the hay over and snipped some more.

I tried using my clicker and target stick. But, I didn’t have enough hands to manage the target, the clicker, the treats, and the scissors. I need a target I don’t have to hold!

Finally, I did manage to whack off enough of their beards to get the goat boys winter-ready.

When one has goats, one must maintain a sense of humor. After all, the goats never lose theirs.

Comments:

  1. Aww! That looks terrible! :) I love the beards and I like the idea of using the beard as a handle.

  3. Ah Mom, but the beard popsicle was my winter status symbol and I liked it. Now I will have to find some other misceavious thing to do.

  4. And I thought you ran out of hands with the parsley, much less the clicker apparatus. Good giggle. Great pics.

  7. You did a darn good job, Terry! Reminds me of when I have to whisker trim the horses…Good times!

  8. I don’t blame them for being terrified! Once I saw my mum cute my little brothers ear when she was giving him a haircut! eeek home haircuts were never quite the same again.
    They do look adorable though. Just like babies again! cute cute cute! xo

  9. Eventually I would like to have some milking goats but I haven’t really done much research yet as I’m nowhere near ready. The goat posts always make me smile and re-fuel my excitement for the some-day of my own goats. Goat beard trimming: who knew?!?!

  10. Goats and cats always into mischief. I feel your pain, my almost one year old Maine Coon mix cat is a doll except when you try to cut his nails. He just turns into hell on wheels, from the start. Neither my mother nor I even together can trim his nails. Only the vet can safely, know only if they made straight jackets for cats.
    I was wondeirng I was watching a video recently with a lady who has dairy goats and she said she always has baking soda out for the goats to eat. I can imagine the way their digestive system is, that they would need it. Poor things tend to get bloat more often then even large dogs. As I have seen this year with a favorite online goat of mine Geisha, she unfortunately devolped bloat and passed away. She was only four. So I was wondering what do you do Terry to prevent bloat in Caper and Pip ? I know certain feeds and pastures can help cause it. Do you put out baking soda for your goats, or is that just for dairy goats ? Do Nigerian Dwarf goats have a higher or lower tendency to devolop bloat ?

  11. You need one of those set ups dog groomers use to get their victims “customers” to stay still while they get their snouts shaved – it’s basically a leash attached to a hook, for the really skirmy they have a second loop for going around the belly to hold gem still.
    PS – oh please take video of trying to get Pip on a leash :-)

  13. They do make straight jackets for cats, it’s a bag with many zippers….but for my cats, I play with their toes all the time, then they notice less when I trim. One cat that didn’t work for….she hissed and bit and scratched, only when she saw the clippers. So I watched the cats’ dominance fights. Then *I* bit her head (well, I pretended). Now she just complains, doesn’t try to bite. I had to speak “cat” to her!

    • I have tried that, just playing with his feet. He won’t allow me to touch them at all, and as acting domiant by grabbing the back of his neck. All he does is struggle more, and I don’t want to get scratched or bit. So I don’t know what else to do. Would clicker training work for cat to allow a person to clip their nails ?

  14. Never a dull moment at Little Pond Farm.
    Yesterday in the course of my job I saw a home with big barn almost identical to yours Terry! AND a couple hens in the photo. APPROVED!! ;-)