Trimming is an essential part of managing your flock (sheep and goats).
Growth must be checked regularly, and hooves trimmed when necessary, usually in the spring after the animals have spent the winter indoors and before they are let out.
Meet Marianna, a professional sheep breeder in the Hautes-Alpes in France, who tells us more about the process.
When sheep's hooves are too long or deformed, they have difficulty moving. Poorly groomed hooves are also a breeding ground for bacteria of all kinds and expose the animal to the risk of infection. Painful lameness affects the animal's walking, makes it suffer and reduces the herd's productivity. The ideal is to trim preventively and regularly, to promote the overall health of your animals.
When trimming the herd, we hold the animal between our legs and make sure it is stable so that it doesn't move. When we're sure of it, we trim off any excess growth and/or correct any deformities with hoof shears or a hoof clipper. Here, we use electric pruning shears with a kit of interchangeable blades specially designed for trimming sheep and goats by INFACO.
My husband used to prune his trees with INFACO's F3010 electric pruning shears. When he stopped, I got his pruning shears and fitted the nail clipper blades. Thanks to the tool, I'm able to do things more precisely, more quickly and more safely for both me and my ewes.
I'm really pleased with it and I'm planning to try out the F3020 soon, which also has a kit of special interchangeable blades for trimming.
More information on our nail clipper adapted to the F3020 electric pruning shears.
Contact your usual INFACO distributor to try it out.