18 BULLETIN 749, II. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



October. At the lower elevations of the Southwest many Angoras 

 will often shed a considerable amount of mohair in the fall if not 

 sheared at that time. In the mountains, however, growers shear 

 twice to lessen the burden of carrying so much mohair during the 

 winter and to prevent the loss of a large amount of mohair as a re- 

 sult of its being pulled out by the brush. One prominent New 

 Mexico grower finds that it is most profitable to shear the kids in 

 January and then shear the yearlings in the following fall. This 

 gives two clips up to about 18 months of age in place of three, but a 

 larger amount of fine, long-staple kid mohair is obtained. 



Both hand and machine shears are used, but the latter are gen- 

 erally considered best. Fleeces should be rolled up inside out and 

 packed, without tying, in sacks, or baled. Sacks that have been used 

 previously for wool should never be used for mohair, because wool 

 requires different d}~es and whatever wool is left in the sacks must 

 therefore be separated from the mohair before the mohair is manu- 

 factured. 



DIPPING. 



It is advisable to dip goats once or twice a year to rid them of lice, 

 with which they are usually infested. Goats can not thrive to best 

 advantage and carry lice; and in the winter especially infested goats 

 will require more feed, and may become thin and produce a poor 

 quality of mohair, and does may even fail to produce kids. Any of 

 the common sheep-dip preparations are satisfactory. 1 



KIDDING. 



To save a high percentage of kids, and thereby insure larger profits, 

 special care must be given to does and kids during kidding. The sug- 

 gestions in the following paragraphs may prove helpful in reducing 

 loss and in facilitating the mothering and proper growth of the kids. 

 These suggestions are for range herds of approximately 1,000 to 

 1,200 does ; but, with slight modifications, they can be used success- 

 fully on an}* range and with a herd of any size. 



THE KIDDING PERIOD. 



The time and length of the kidding period are regulated by the 

 service of the bucks. On most southwestern ranges kidding may 

 start any time between February 1 and May 1, and may last from 

 30 to 45 days. To be certain of ample green feed and to insure 

 proper growth of the kids before the June dry period comes and 

 still avoid the danger of severe storms, it is generally best to have 



1 Full information regarding dipping of sheep will be found in Farmers' Bulletin 713, 

 "Sheep Seal),*' Marion linos, and Farmers' Bulletin T98, "The Sheep Tick and 1 Its Eradi- 

 cation by Dipping," Marion lines. 



