# Clippers for body clipping?



## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

What clippers do you use for full body clipping on goats? We have a ShearMaster that we used for sheep and the Angora goats and a goat comb. Can you use that for body shearing a regular goat or do you have to use a finer bladed clipper?


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## julieq (Oct 12, 2008)

We use a Clipmaster (with the small teeth blades, not the big sheep shear blades) for especially our bucks for just getting most of the body hair off. Then smaller clippers (like Oster A5's) for legs, belly, neck, hind end and touching up the body. The Clipmaster is really heavy for me to use, so I spend as little time with it as possible.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Thank you! My daughter wants to show a goat or two, which we know nothing about and don't know anyone else that does that can mentor us. I know you're supposed to body clip 3 weeks before a show to give the fur time to grow out a bit and I know you're supposed to wear all white, and that's as much as we know.


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## sungirl (Jan 23, 2008)

3 weeks will give you to much regrowth. Clip the whole animal with #10 blade (head, ears, eyelashes, legs, udder, etc) then udder up show day with 14 hours of milk, then clip the whole udder with #40 blade the morn'in of the show.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

You definitely don't want to use sheep shearing blades on goats unless you are shearing angoras. Are you clipping dairy or meat goats? If meat goats, are you clipping breeding boers or market meat goats? This will affect how you clip. I use the Andis Progress horse and cattle clipper on my goats because it is relatively quiet. Some of the clippers will have interchangable heads. You can buy a clipping blade and interchange it with the shearing blade. I don't know if your brand has that option, but look into it.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

These are dairy goats.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

Ok, for dairy goats you want to do a full body clip with a #10 blade against the grain of the hair. The #10 blade is approximately the same length as the standard blade that comes with livestock clippers. The only hair you leave is a brush on the end of the tail. I like to leave a 1 1/2-2" brush. Some people do it shorter, some people do it longer. I don't like to clip any earlier than a week before the show, and then trim up on show day.

I suppose you could use your shearmasters if you had the 20 tooth goat comb and the four point cutter, but I wouldn't. I'd be too afraid of something getting cut, particularly around the elbow, flank, or udder. My preference is for a quieter clipper than anything oster makes. I like the Lister clippers the best since they are lightweight and quiet.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Thank you! So you body clip just a week before show day? And you clip everything? Face and all? The doe she'll be showing is just a young one, so there won't be any udder right now.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

Everything except for a brush on the end of the tail. 

Here is a picture of a kid that I bodyclipped for show. This is how they should look:

Endeavor 07 by saanengirl, on Flickr


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

As far as clippers go, if you want long lasting light weight and powerful then Laube clippers are the bomb, if I had these before I quite grooming dogs I may not have had to quit. I did a full grown boer buck in 30 min with them and they require a bit more creative clipping than dairy goats do.

I however own a pair of Andies super two speed, they are quick and efficient and are about $200 less than the Laubes. I will say its a wise investment to get a two speed clipper with a detachable blade. Do not get ceramic, yes they are cooler and stay sharp longer providing they dont get dropped which they do.
You will also need a can of cool lube. I buy blades off Ebay as well as they are cheaper, just dont buy used. If you use the cool lube often to keep the blades clean they will last longer and keep you from burning your goat.

One other bit of advice, clip a few weeks before the show when its your first time, even though you will have to clip again, most goats this time of year have a lot of undercoat and being a newbie to clipping they will look horrid and gappy, even an old pro like me is almost ashamed of how my buck turned out but it simply couldnt have came out any different. However now he has time to grow out and be reclipped before show season.
I dont like clipping the whole body on the show grounds, things are stressful enough but thats my opinion. Ill tidy up however.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

BTW, the goat in the picture I posted above is overconditioned. You don't want your goats to be that fat!


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

better to be a bit over than way under, she looks nice Saanengirl better than my bag o bones, mines really not that bad just never can get hip coverage.


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