GOATS ON FAK WESTERN RANGES. 13 



back over the same area grazed in the morning it is possible to pick 

 up any goats that have remained behind through failure to herd them 

 carefully enough. 



Ordinarily goats should be taken from the bed ground early in the 

 morning and returned about sundown. On ranges where there is 

 danger of foot rot resulting from wet grass, however, it may be best 

 to hold the herd on the bed ground until about 7 a. m. Goats can not 

 secure sufficient feed when driven over the range for only a few hours 

 during the middle of the day. Accordingly, it is poor practice to 

 hold them on the bed ground until late in the morning or bring them 

 in early in the afternoon. Goats graze more quietly in the cool of 

 the morning and evening, and thrive best when allowed four or five 

 hours of quiet grazing at each of these periods and a rest on the 

 range of from an hour to several hours during the heat of the day. 



BEDDING. 



Many herds of goats, regardless of size, are bedded in a corral at 

 the main ranch throughout the entire year. Some growers, having 

 observed the detrimental effects to range and goats of such a method, 

 have used more bed grounds. However, this is only a step in the right 

 direction. When just a few bed grounds are used with large herds 

 there is considerable concentration of grazing, which may prevent 

 proper growth of the goats. Range practice has shown that the more 

 bed grounds used the greater the benefits to range and goats. This 

 leads to the conclusion that the bedding-out system as used with 

 sheep would be the most successful method for handling goats. 



Single bed ground.— Bedding the goats on the same ground every 

 night in the year prevents proper management of the range. A large 

 area is overgrazed and trampled and the forage on the range is not 

 utilized evenly. As the palatable species disappear from the over- 

 grazed area the goats are forced to turn to the less palatable plants, 

 and excessive traveling is required to secure fresh forage. The com- 

 bination of these circumstances keeps the goats in a moderate or 

 poor condition at all times of the year. They fail to make normal 

 gains in weight, the does fail to give sufficient milk, and the growth 

 and value of the mohair is lessened. The decrease in value of the 

 mohair is due partly to the dust from the overgrazed area which ad- 

 heres to the mohair, and partly to the uneven staple resulting from 

 changes occurring in the condition of the goats. 



Because of the lack of browse on the overgrazed area close about 

 the bed ground much supplemental feed is required when snows cover 

 the other range forage, and this increases materially the cost of goat 

 production. The general practice, however, is to furnish very little 

 supplemental feed, the result being suffering and loss. The goats 

 become thin and it is extremely difficult to bring them back to good 



