34 FARMERS BULLETIN 920. 



RENTING GOATS. 



It occasionally happens that a supply of goats' milk is desired for 

 only a short time. Under such conditions does are sometimes rented. 

 Sometimes a breeder would not care to sell a doe but would be willing 

 to rent her out. The charges for this service not only depend upon the 

 value of the doe and the quantity of milk she is capable of producing, 

 but upon how badly the goat is needed. The writer recalls one case 

 where a doe was rented for a period of three months at $10 a month, 

 and in case of the death of the doe the owner was to receive her full 

 estimated value. However, a fair basis for the charge of renting out 

 a doe would be a reasonable price per quart for the milk she would 

 likely produce during the period wanted. 



GOAT TROUBLES. 



Although considered very healthy, goats are subject to disease and 

 have their troubles as well as any other class of animals. Goats are 

 less subject to disease than sheep, but the two species are so closely 

 allied that the treatment in cases of disease is the same for both. 



A matter of great importance and one upon which breeders lay 

 considerable emphasis is the fact that goats are rarely affected with 

 tuberculosis. Their freedom from this widespread and dreaded 

 disease is probably due to environment rather than to natural immu- 

 nity. When confined to close quarters with cows that have tubercu- 

 losis, they will, however, contract the disease. Goats that are in good 

 condition are not very likely to be diseased or to contract disease, 

 but there are some maladies which affect them if they are allowed to 

 get in poor condition. 



In the Federal meat inspection the cause of most of the condemna- 

 tions for goats on both ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections is 

 emaciation. Emaciation may be due to any one or a combination of 

 several conditions or diseases, such as stomach worms, flukes, tape- 

 worms, abortion, and takosis. It is necessary, of course, to find out 

 the real cause of this condition before a treatment can be administered. 



STOMACH WORMS. 



Goats become infected with stomach worms, the important symp- 

 toms of which are loss of flesh, weakness, digestive disturbances, 

 diarrhea or constipation, capricious appetite, and paleness of the 

 mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth. Swellings under the jaw 

 are often noticed. Stomach worms are found in the fourth stomach; 

 they are rather small, ranging from \ to 1 J inches long and about as 

 thick as an ordinary pin. 



There are two methods of treatment, one with the use of gasoline 

 and the other with copper sulphate (bluestone or blue vitriol). Tests 

 made by the Zoological Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry 

 indicate that in sheep the gasoline treatment is not only less efficacious 



