THE HEAHT OF THE HERD— THE DOES 165 



put the kids in a narrow, deep box and leave them with 

 the mother. She will have the satisfaction of licking 

 them and will not fret, while the kids cannot reach her 

 udder to nurse. After a few days of this arrangement, 

 milking the doe carefully by hand and feeding the kids 

 on a bottle, the kids will learn to wait for the bottle and 

 will not nurse even when turned loose in the pen with the 

 mother. Or, if desired, the mother could be put into the 

 kind of a coat described on page 200 to prevent the 

 kids from nursing. 



The afterbirth, which ought normally to be ejected a 

 few hours after the kidding, sometimes does not come 

 away for several days. If after one day the doe seems 

 out of condition and there is an unpleasant odor notice- 

 able, a veterinarian should be called. Sometimes the 

 retained afterbirth can be loosened by the use, two or 

 three times a day, of a vaginal douche of normal salt 

 solution, quite warm (one teaspoonful salt to one pint 

 water). Extreme care and gentleness should be used 

 in passing the vaginal tube of the syringe through the 

 neck of the uterus. If that has already contracted too 

 much to allow passage, very little can be accomplished 

 except by a veterinarian. 



Normally there is a slight bloody discharge for a 

 week, or even two weeks, after kidding. It is pleasanter 

 for all concerned if the doe can be kept clean, washing 



