THE ANGORA GOAT. 75 



it should he desirable to have the kids drop gradually, say durhig a period of two 

 months, esjiecially when winter kidding is made a practice, from 75 to 150 ewes for 

 each buck is not too much — again, according to animal and time. They should not 

 run with the entire fiock at once, but begin with say one-third to one-fourth of it, 

 according to circumstances. The next similar fraction should be put in the breeding 

 flock from two to five days later, and so on until gradually the entire flock is with 

 the bucks. In this way a full crop of kids would be insured and at the same time 

 ■ the bucks prevented from doing excessive service. 



The handling- of "riginals" (ridgels) should have a word here. If 

 the one testicle which descends is removed, the riginal will not get 

 kids, but he will bother the does. If the descended testicle is not 

 removed, he will breed without difficulty. He should be killed as soon 

 as practicable. 



NUMBER OF KIDS. 



Thoroughbred Angora goats do not often drop more than one kid at 

 a time, while the common goats nearly always drop two. There are 

 many twins with the first cross, but the number diminishes as the 

 crosses become higher. It is stated that the purebred Angoras never 

 dropped but one at a time, and that the presence of twins in a flock is 

 evidence of a base origin of the goats. The latter statement is disputed 

 by some, who believe that the purebred Angora (having no trace 

 whatever of base blood) will drop twins as regularly as the common 

 goat. 



SIZE OF FLOCKS. 



All goat raisers agree that Angoras can not stand crowding together; 

 and the higher the grade of the goats the more susceptible are they to 

 injury from crowding. But to state just how many should be kept in 

 a flock is difficult, as the number depends upon the character of their 

 restraint. Where they have the range at day and large yards at night, 

 the flocks may be very large, but where they have pastures and small 

 pens at night the flock must not be large. 



Writers upon the Angora industry have placed so much stress upon 

 the point of overcrowding that the Bureau sought for information 

 upon the question "What should be the size of Angora flocks? " Each 

 correspondent replied with his own experience, and the conclusion is 

 reached from the replies that they may be handled in flocks about as 

 sheep are handled, the number depending wholly upon the capacity 

 of the range or pasture, as the numbers reported for flocks are from 

 100 to 2,500. However, the danger from crowding is not disputed by 

 any of the correspondents, and many of them mention it specifically. 

 This phase of the matter must be carefully considered in connection 

 with the question of housing and shelter. These must be ample to 

 afford abundance of room and fresh air. 



It is stated by some that goats running in small flocks shear more 

 than the same number running in large flocks. 



