Part 8

The operator stands on the outside of the small corral, and the assistant 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 scrotum. The testicles are then seized with the fingers and drawn out. The operator drops the castrated kid into the large enclosure and the assistant presents another kid. Two men can operate on sixty kids an hour. The testicles are slippery and some herders prefer to use the teeth instead of the fingers to extract the testicles. Under no circumstances should any unclean thing be put into the scrotum. 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 scrotum swells, and does not discharge, the scrotum 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 testicle. When these animals are found the descended testicle 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 testicle can be removed, but as the testicle 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 assistant 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 testicle occupied. He then shears the mohair from this part of the goat. The mohair should be removed from a space 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 testicle 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 coarse hair, and it is not until he is from three to five weeks old that the fine mohair fibers appear growing between the coarser 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 quantity 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 buttons 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.

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 carcasses 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 (lusterless), 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 albuminous 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 quantity 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 trimming 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.

There are several plants which will poison goats, but very little is known about them. Some of the laurel family are responsible for the death of a good many goats yearly, and some milk-weeds will kill if taken in sufficient amount at certain times of the year. These plants should be avoided as much as possible. Treatment has been rather unsatisfactory. If the poisoned animal is treated at once, an active purgative may rid the system of the irritant. Epsom salts and crotin oil have given relief.

Mr. Schreiner describes an epidemic of pleuro-pneumonia which destroyed many flocks of Angora goats in South Africa. The disease was effectually stamped out in that country, and it has never appeared in American flocks. Mr. Thompson has described a disease called Takosis, which was supposed to have caused the death of many goats in the Eastern States, and along the Missouri River Valley. Some claimed that this trouble was caused by change of climate, others thought that it was starvation or lack of proper care. There is very little evidence of it now in the United States. All in all, the Angora goat is the healthiest of domestic animals.

Our Own Flocks.

In 1865, Mr. C. P. Bailey started in the Angora goat industry. There were then very few Angora goats in the United States, and those in California had originated from two thoroughbred bucks secured from Col. Peters of Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1866, Mr. Bailey secured a pair of Angoras from W. W. Chenery of Boston, Mass. There were two other pairs secured at this time for other parties, and these three does were the first thoroughbred does brought to California. The first two goats cost Mr. Bailey $1000. The first thoroughbred Angora kid dropped in California was by Mr. Bailey's doe.

In 1869, Mr. Bailey furnished money to bring the Brown & Diehl importation to California, with the understanding that he was to have first choice. The Angoras secured from this lot were the best goats which had been brought to California up to that time.