Practical Angora Goat Raising Part 5

After all the does have been selected which can be found, still some will be overlooked, and they will go out on the range with the rest. The best way to handle these is to have the herder make a straight drive to a certain point where the feed is good, and then stay around this one place, allowing the kids to come within as small a radius as possible without starving the goats. If it is necessary, quite a distance can be covered in this way, and yet the kids will not be scattered over a large section of the country.

As a kid is dropped, the doe should be allowed to remain with her kid and take care of it until evening. The herd will gradually feed from them, but it should be kept as near as possible to protect the kids from wild animals. Towards evening one must go out and gather up the kids and drive the mothers to the corral. The large herd should be driven home in advance, keeping a little apart from the does with kids so as not to coax the "wet does" away with the "dry herd."

When the wagon with the kids reaches the ranch, the kids should be put in a small corral. They should be placed a few feet apart, and the mothers should be allowed to select their own kids. They also should be allowed to remain in the corral for the night at least. In case a doe will not take her kid she should be placed in one of the box stalls and a kid which has no mother placed with her and fed.

When plenty of small corrals and good hay are available, each day's kids should be left in a separate corral until the mothers have been with the kids one or two days. It will be found that the kids are always given a very good start in this way. When it is deemed advisable, the kids are put together in a large corral, and as soon as the mothers in the smaller corrals are thought to know their kids sufficiently well, they are added to this wet band in the large corral. Thus the round is completed from the dry band to the wet band, the small corral being simply an intermediate step to insure familiarity between the doe and her kid. The dry band rapidly diminishes while the wet band increases.

The mothers are now ready to go on the range during the day to feed, but the kids should be kept in the corral until they are at least six weeks old. The does may be turned out over a "jump board" placed across the gate. A jump board is a two-inch plank, eighteen inches high, with a four-inch strip nailed on the top for the does to put their feet on as they jump over. The kids come to the board but cannot get over. If some of the larger kids bother by trying to get over, some one can stand at the gate to scare them back by pounding on the board with a stick. The does will soon learn to pay no attention to the noise.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THOROUGHBRED ANGORA DOE.]

Even now there will be a few kids which will not be mothered. Every morning, before the wet band is allowed to go over the jump board, one should walk through the herd, pick out the kids that have not been nourished during the night, and select does that are not suckling kids.

These does should be held until the kids have been fed. A row of small stantions is a convenient thing for holding them. After a kid gets a good start he will steal a living from different does if necessary.

To kid a band of from one thousand to fifteen hundred does by the corral method, will require at least three men--one man to herd the dry band, one the wet band, and a man to look after the kids and a.s.sist where needed. Often the wet band is divided, or when one wet band has reached the number of from five hundred to seven hundred animals, another is started.

THE STAKING METHOD.

The staking method is quite commonly used, and in certain localities it is probably the best way to handle kids. The apparatus necessary is a smooth piece of half-inch board, two inches wide and four inches long, with a hole bored in each end. Through the hole in one end a piece of rope eight inches long is pa.s.sed, and knotted so that it cannot pull out. The loose end of this rope is then made fast to a stout stake which is to be driven into the ground. Through the hole in the other end a piece of rope eighteen inches long is pa.s.sed and knotted as in the first end, in such a way that the loose end of the rope, which is to be fastened to the kid's leg, draws away from the stake. When the apparatus is in use the small stick with the holes in the ends acts as a swivel to keep the rope from tangling.

It is important to select a proper place to tie the kid. He is to stay in this place for about six weeks, and he needs protection from winds and wild animals, and should have some suns.h.i.+ne and some shade. Usually a small tree, a bush, a fence, or a post will offer a good place to stake. The does which are expected to kid during the day are separated from the flock as in the corral method. The balance of the band are herded, so that the kids dropped on the range can be more easily handled. Just as soon as a kid is dropped, it is taken to a convenient place to stake, and the mother coaxed to follow. One of the kid's legs is securely fastened to the loose end of the rope, and the kid and its mother are left together. The mother is thus free to go and feed, and on returning will know exactly where to find her kid.

Many owners allow the does which have kidded to herd themselves, as they usually return to their kids, often coming in several times during the day. Of course this necessitates having plenty of food and water within access of the staking ground. The wet band could be herded as in the corral method.

In this staking method if a mother refuses to own her kid, or if she dies, the kid has no chance to steal milk from some other wet doe, and unless closely watched, quite a number of kids will starve. The rope should be changed from one leg to the other occasionally to allow symmetry of development. The preparation of ropes and stakes for a thousand kids is quite a task, and it keeps the energetic herder busy during his spare moments getting ready for kidding time.

For the first few days the Angora kid is full of life and vigor as any animal of like age. If he be well nourished, he will frisk and play at all kinds of antics, until he is so tired that he must forget everything. The sleep which comes is so sound that any usual amount of noise does not disturb him. It is this characteristic which makes it unsafe to take kids on to the range with a flock. The kids are liable to hide behind some bush, go to sleep and be lost.

CASTRATING.

Before the kids are allowed to go out with the flock the males should be castrated. The Turk does not alter the males until they have developed s.e.xuality and the male horn, _i. e._, the heavy characteristic buck horn. He then castrates by either removing the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, or by twisting or destroying the spermatic cord. When the latter method is used the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es and cord undergo an inflammatory process which destroys the regenerative power of the animal. The t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es remain in the s.c.r.o.t.u.m apparently unchanged. The animal thus treated presents to the casual observer the physical characteristics of a buck. The Turk claims that an animal treated in this manner is less liable to die than one whose t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es are removed. This is probably true, as the initial lesion produced by the operation is very small, and there is less liability of infection.

The usual method employed in this country is to remove the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es before the regenerative power of the animal is developed. This gives the wether a feminine appearance, and there is comparatively little danger of death if the operation is properly performed. It will be easiest to castrate the kids between the age of two and four weeks. The kids should be driven into a small clean corral, and after undergoing the operation they should be turned into a large clean enclosure.

The operator stands on the outside of the small corral, and the a.s.sistant catches the kids and turns them belly up before the operator, onto a board which has been fastened to the fence. A pair of clean scissors, or a sharp knife, which may be kept in a five per cent.

carbolic acid solution when not in use, serve to cut off the distal end of the s.c.r.o.t.u.m. The t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es are then seized with the fingers and drawn out. The operator drops the castrated kid into the large enclosure and the a.s.sistant presents another kid. Two men can operate on sixty kids an hour. The t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es are slippery and some herders prefer to use the teeth instead of the fingers to extract the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. Under no circ.u.mstances should any unclean thing be put into the s.c.r.o.t.u.m. Death usually results from infection, and infection from uncleanliness. A little boracic acid might be sprinkled over the cut surface as an additional precaution, but this is unnecessary if ordinary cleanliness is observed. If after a few days the kid's s.c.r.o.t.u.m swells, and does not discharge, the s.c.r.o.t.u.m should be opened with a clean instrument. Less than one-half of one per cent. of the kids will die from this operation.

RIDGLINGS.

While castrating the kids the operator will discover that some of the kids have but one descended t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e. When these animals are found the descended t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e should be removed, and they should be recognized by some distinctive ear mark or brand. These animals will develop like bucks. It is a disputed question as to whether they are able to exercise regenerative power, but they will cover the does, and in some cases they probably get kids. The undescended t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e can be removed, but as the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e usually lies close to the kidney, and is hard to distinguish from that organ in the young animal, it is best to delay the operation until the ridgling is at least six months old. The instruments necessary for this operation are a stout rope to suspend the animal, a clean sharp knife, scissors to remove the mohair from the place to be incised, and sharp needles threaded with silk. The knife, scissors and silk should be immersed in a hot 5% carbolic acid solution, and they should be kept in this solution except when actually in use.

The rope is fastened to the hind legs of the animal and he is suspended in midair. An a.s.sistant steadies the body of the goat. The operator selects a place on the loin of the goat, about two or three inches away from the backbone, below the ribs and above the hip bone, on the side opposite to that which the descended t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e occupied. He then shears the mohair from this part of the goat. The mohair should be removed from a s.p.a.ce at least eight inches square. A lengthwise incision is then made through the skin and muscles, or after the skin is cut, the muscles can be separated with the fingers and the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e is found. It usually lies close to the backbone, to the lower and inner side of the kidney.

It is usually undeveloped and much smaller than the kidney. Its surface is smooth and not indented like the kidney. When it is discovered it can be withdrawn through the opening, and adherent tissue clipped with the scissors. The muscles and skin should be brought together with the silk thread. The needles should pierce the muscles as well as the skin, and the edges of the skin should approximate. No hair should be allowed to remain between the cut surfaces, as the wound will not heal rapidly.

After the wound is closed some boracic acid powder may be dusted over the wound, and the goat allowed his freedom. After ten days or two weeks the silk threads should be cut and drawn out, as they will not absorb, and they will irritate the wound. If this operation is carefully performed, and strict cleanliness adhered to, less than 2% of the animals operated upon will die.

GROWTH.

A kid at birth is usually small and weak, possibly weighing from four to six pounds. For the first few days of life he grows slowly, but as the organs adapt themselves to the new life, the kid becomes strong and grows rapidly. When the kid is born he is covered with a coa.r.s.e hair, and it is not until he is from three to five weeks old that the fine mohair fibers appear growing between the coa.r.s.er hairs. The kid continues to grow gradually, and at three or four months he weighs from twenty to forty pounds. The mohair may now be from two to four inches long. At a year old the Angora goat will weigh from fifty to eighty pounds, and the mohair may be as long as twelve inches, or sometimes longer.

WEANING.

When does are bred once a year the kid should be weaned before the doe is rebred. This allows the doe time to recuperate before her maternal powers are again brought into active service. Then, too, a doe nursing a kid through the winter, enters the spring with a depleted system and produces a poor quality and small quant.i.ty of mohair. The kids should be weaned when they are about five months old, as this allows the mother at least two months rest before she is rebred.

MARKING.

There are various reasons for marking goats, and the methods employed vary as widely as the reasons therefor. The object in view is to put some mark of identification either permanent or temporary upon the animal. The ears may be cropped in certain ways, a brand may be placed upon the nose, or tags or b.u.t.tons placed in the ears, or characters tattooed into the ears. Probably the most permanent mark is the tattoo, and if it be placed on the inner hairless surface of the ear, it is as lasting as the tattoo so often seen in a man's arm.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

DISEASES.

Some of the older breeders supposed that the Angora was not subject to any disease, but as goats have been introduced into new territory, they have become affected by some of the same troubles which bother sheep, but usually to a less degree. Some of the worst sheep diseases, such as scab, do not bother goats, but the goat has some special complaints which do not affect sheep. Very few carca.s.ses are condemned by the government meat inspectors at the large packing centers. Tuberculosis is almost unknown.

LICE.

Nearly all goats are infested with lice, a small reddish louse, a goat louse. Lice rarely kills the animal infested, but they do annoy the goat greatly. Goats will not fatten readily, and the mohair is usually dead (l.u.s.terless), if the animals are badly infested. It is an easy matter to discover the lice. The goats scratch their bodies with their horns and make the fleece appear a little ragged. On separating the mohair the lice can easily be seen with the naked eye. The best means of ridding the goats of this annoyance is with almost any of the sheep dips. A dip which does not stain the mohair should be selected. The goats should be dipped after shearing, as it does not take much dip then to penetrate to the skin. One dipping will usually kill the lice, but the alb.u.minous coat covering the nits (eggs of the louse), are not easily penetrated, and it is usually necessary to dip again within ten days, so that the nits, which have hatched since the first dipping, will not have a chance to mature and deposit more eggs. Goats can be dipped at almost any time, but if in full fleece they will require a larger quant.i.ty of liquid, and if the weather is very cold, there is some danger.

STOMACH WORMS.

Stomach worms affect goats, and in some instances their ravages prove fatal. There are a variety of these worms, but the general effect on the animal is about the same. They are usually worse in wet years. The goats affected become thin and weak. They usually scour. Sometimes the worm, or part of the worm, can be found in the feces. These same symptoms are caused by starvation, so the two should not be confounded. There are many drenches in use for the treatment of this trouble, and some of the proprietary remedies have given some relief. Goats running on dry, high land are rarely affected.

Verminous pneumonia of sheep may also occur in goats.

FOOT ROT.

Foot rot is a disease which affects both goats and sheep, if they are kept on low wet land. It rarely proves fatal, and can be cured if the cause is removed, but it sometimes causes a good deal of trouble. The goats' feet swell between the toes and become so sore that the animals are compelled to walk on their knees. It can be cured by carefully tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the feet and using solutions of blue stone. Goats should not be put on wet land.

Sometimes the glands of the neck enlarge, a condition known as goitre.

This is sometimes fatal with kids, but usually cures itself. There is no known remedy for it, but it is comparatively rare.

Anthrax, tuberculosis, pleuro-pneumonia and meningitis, will affect goats, but these diseases are very rare. Some of the southern goats have swollen ears, but what the cause of this trouble is no one has yet determined.

POISONS.