THE HEART OF THE HERD— THE DOES 



153 



fed, she needs the same free space for exercise, and the 

 same play apparatus that were recommended for the 

 kids. Her feet will need watching, too, if she is not 

 on range. 



Age to Breed. — When 

 is she old enough to breed '{ 

 " Mother Nature " says in 

 the first fall of her life, at 

 six to eight months old, 

 according to the month of 

 her birth. Many breeders 

 follow this rule of Nature, 

 others very earnestly ad- 

 vise holding the young doe 

 to the age of eighteen 

 months, so that she will 

 come fresh the first time at 

 about the age of two years, 

 when she has completed her 

 own body growth. The 

 latter practice has much 

 to recommend it, both in 

 theory and in the excellent 

 results obtained when it 

 has been followed consistently in building up a herd. It 

 is certainly the safest rule, and the breeder who has the 

 courage to adhere to it year after year finds his reward in 



rrrrn rcAiff 



TELLING THE AGE BV THE TEETH 



Fic. 4R. — Goats, like sheep and eattle, have 

 no front teeth on the upper jaw — simply a 

 hard pad of gristle. They have eight front 

 teeth on the lower jaw, and under one year 

 of age these are " sucking teeth," small and 

 sharp. At about one year the centre pair 

 drop out, and are replaced by two larger per- 

 manent teeth. Between the twentieth and 

 twenty-fourth month two more large teeth 

 appear, one on each side of the first pair. 

 In the third >'ear two more come in, and in the 

 fourth year the last pair — one at each corner. 

 At seven or eight years some of these teeth 

 niay become broken or fall out, or may be 

 knocked out b>- accident before that time. 

 Frequently, however, goats' teeth develop 

 much more quickly than shown above, and 

 many have their full mouth between the 

 third and fourth year. Bulletin No. 64, 

 Goat Raising in British Oolunibia. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, British Columbia. 



