THE HEART OF THE HERD— THE DOES 173 



pains to preserve with her that affectionate intimacy 

 which grows up between the hand fed kid and its care- 

 taker, but which is sometimes lost during the next stage 

 when no special need for individual attention exists. A 

 few moments of petting or handling each day will retain 

 in the young doe her feeling of affectionate confidence 

 in her owner, and will be rewarded later, when she comes 

 a fresh doe into the milking room. 



Removing the Kids. — Before the time of kidding 

 arrives, the decision must be made to separate the kids 

 from the doe before she has an opportunity to see, hear, 

 or smell them. If we are to develop the best possible 

 capacity in the doe, there is no questioning this necessity. 



* For the young does, especially of the Swiss breeds, 

 develop very rapidly a passionate attachment for their 

 kids. When they are finally removed, the mother's suf- 

 fering is prolonged and intense, enough in itself to check 

 the development of her milk, whose free and full flow is 

 directly dependent upon the contentment and placidity 

 of the animal. More than this, she will deliberately hold 

 up her milk, keeping it in the hope of the return of her 

 kids, and this, too, acts to decrease permanently the flow 

 she was giving when her mind was at peace. But worst 

 of all, in the case of a young doe the caretaker now has 

 on hand the task of " breaking " her to milk. In her ex- 

 cited and unhappy state of mind this process is likely to 



* Reproduced from the " Goat World," November, 1918, page 5, 



