IMPROVED REINDEER HANDLING 



7 



them and they fall on their side. The larger, older reindeer must 

 be handled by more than one man, usually three. As the animals 

 reach the end of the chute they are grasped and held by the horns 

 by a man on the platform, the near horn being used as a lever over 

 the low wall fronting the platform. The gate is then opened and 

 the animal grasped by the forelegs by one man. The horns are 

 then pulled over the end of the chute by two men, the animal twisted 

 over and thrown on its side and dragged a few feet away where 

 it is held by another man. A dehorned animal is thrown and held 

 by placing the chest against the animal's side, grasping the off 

 front leg, and, as the animal goes over, placing one leg over its 

 back and the other between its hind legs. 



REMOVING DISEASED AND INJURED STOCK 2 



Losses of reindeer from disease and injury may be reduced to the 

 minimum through improved handling. Such injuries as broken 

 horns and bones usually result from rough or improper handling. 

 Losses from this source may be largely prevented by elimination of 

 roping, the employment of proper corral and chute, and insistence 

 on gentleness in handling. 



Reindeer, like domestic livestock, are troubled with parasites and 

 with such bacterial diseases as foot rot. Close and frequent grazing 

 over the same ground predisposes the animals to becoming heavily 

 infested with these parasites and bacteria. Therefore such grazing 

 should be carefully avoided. Where an area has become contami- 

 nated, the herd should promptly be moved onto new ground. A 

 sickly animal should not be kept in the herd, and if there is any 

 doubt about its condition it should be killed without hesitation. 

 Great losses through sprread of diseases to other animals may often 

 be averted by prompt action of this nature. 



PERCENTAGE MARKING 



Unmarked stock is distributed among the owners on the basis of 

 percentage ownership of does, including female yearlings. When 

 there is no definite record of ownership, proportionate distribution 

 is made on the basis of the marked does passing through the chute. 

 Once the ownership of a herd is completely established, the marlring 

 of fawns from year to year is done on percentage ownership of the 

 previous year, with transfers taken into account. As unmarked 

 yearling females are assigned, they add to the total female stock of 

 the owner and share in the distribution of the fawns. 



The percentage on which distribution is based is found by dividing 

 the total number of f av/ns handled by the total number of does. The 

 number of fawns to which each owner is entitled is found by multi- 

 plying this percentage by the number of does recorded for him. A 

 second, and often preferred, method is to divide the total number of 

 does of each owner by the total number of does in the herd and 

 multiply by the total number of fawns or yearlings. 



2 More detailed information regarding the diseases and parasites of reindeer and their 

 treatment may be found in the following : Hadwen, S., and Palmer, L. J. reindeer in 

 ALASKA, U. S. Dept. Agr.. Bui. 3 089, 75 p., illus. 1922. (For sale by Superintendent of 

 Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, at 25 cents a copy.) 



