THE HEART OF THE HERD— THE DOES 163 



shoulder, preventing the birth. In this case it is neces- 

 sary to push back gently on the legs and body of the 

 kid, insert the hand, and bring the head around into posi- 

 tion. Sometimes there will be a dead kid along with one 

 or two live ones. The body of a dead kid seems to come 

 with more difficulty than a live kid, and help may be 

 necessary to the doe in her efforts to expel it. 



A healthy doe who has had proper feed and exercise 

 so rarely has any trouble in kidding that the veriest 

 novice need feel no anxiety at all. On the extremely 

 rare occasions when the birth is completely obstructed, 

 and after many hours of labor pains the doe is exhausted, 

 the assistance of a veterinarian must be obtained. 



Usuallj^ the first kid will be dropped about an hour 

 after definite pains have begun, and the second and third 

 kid, if so many, will appear at intervals of about fifteen 

 minutes. The birth of the first kid, however, sometimes 

 occurs within a few minutes of the time that one notices 

 the doe is down, and the others come almost nose to tail. 

 On other occasions the birth-pains may continue at inter- 

 vals for four or five hours before the kid is dropped, 

 and as many hours will elapse again before the second 

 kid comes. This is rather unusual, and for the most part 

 the kidding is a quick and simple business. If after the 

 birth of the first kid a considerable part of the after- 

 birth appears, one may conclude that there are no more 



