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Hey Kat,
I saw you asked about shaving goats in the classifieds thread and I agree--it needs its own topic. So I hope you don't mind that I created one. Don't be afraid to shave your goats. Most of mine love being shaved once they get used to the noise and feel of the clippers. They may shy back at first, but with a little patience and some treats they've all come to enjoy a "full body massage" with the clippers. My old goat Cuzco used to fall asleep while I clipped him. And he would sometimes lean into the clippers and mess me up too!
I have a pair of corded Wahl animal clippers that work very well. I've had them for years and years. I bought a box of different-length comb attachments at Sally Beauty Supply. I think for the wethers I shave them to around 5/8" at the end of May. Sometimes I shave to 1/2" if we're sleeking up for a parade or show. If I have to shave later in the summer I'll use a 3/4" comb so they don't have to grow quite as much before fall. I shave Finn shorter than Sputnik because he gets hotter and his coat is thicker.
With our old goat Cuzco I used to leave a 1" wide strip of unshaved hair down his spine so he could still raise his hackles. Also, he had a very prominent spine, so it was easy to accidentally shave it too short and cause it to get sunburned even with a guard. If your goat has a prominent spine, leaving the hair long on it can help protect it from the pack saddle. Finn and Sputnik, on the other hand, have rounded backs and their hackles aren't well-defined like Cuzco's, so I usually shave their spine too. In fact, Sputnik's hackle hair lays over to one side, so he'd look lopsided if I were to leave it unshaved.
I also leave the lower leg hair unshaved for packgoats. They need the hair for protection. I also do not shave their tails. In fact, I don't even shave the tails on my show goats because I absolutely detest the "paintbrush" look. That, and I tend to think the tail hair is important to protect their sensitive heinies. A packgoat's head doesn't need to be shaved either.
I saw you asked about shaving goats in the classifieds thread and I agree--it needs its own topic. So I hope you don't mind that I created one. Don't be afraid to shave your goats. Most of mine love being shaved once they get used to the noise and feel of the clippers. They may shy back at first, but with a little patience and some treats they've all come to enjoy a "full body massage" with the clippers. My old goat Cuzco used to fall asleep while I clipped him. And he would sometimes lean into the clippers and mess me up too!
I have a pair of corded Wahl animal clippers that work very well. I've had them for years and years. I bought a box of different-length comb attachments at Sally Beauty Supply. I think for the wethers I shave them to around 5/8" at the end of May. Sometimes I shave to 1/2" if we're sleeking up for a parade or show. If I have to shave later in the summer I'll use a 3/4" comb so they don't have to grow quite as much before fall. I shave Finn shorter than Sputnik because he gets hotter and his coat is thicker.
With our old goat Cuzco I used to leave a 1" wide strip of unshaved hair down his spine so he could still raise his hackles. Also, he had a very prominent spine, so it was easy to accidentally shave it too short and cause it to get sunburned even with a guard. If your goat has a prominent spine, leaving the hair long on it can help protect it from the pack saddle. Finn and Sputnik, on the other hand, have rounded backs and their hackles aren't well-defined like Cuzco's, so I usually shave their spine too. In fact, Sputnik's hackle hair lays over to one side, so he'd look lopsided if I were to leave it unshaved.
I also leave the lower leg hair unshaved for packgoats. They need the hair for protection. I also do not shave their tails. In fact, I don't even shave the tails on my show goats because I absolutely detest the "paintbrush" look. That, and I tend to think the tail hair is important to protect their sensitive heinies. A packgoat's head doesn't need to be shaved either.