6 CIKCrLAK 8 2, U. S. OF AGEICITLmiE 



in. and the rest follow. Two or three sled reindeer tied within and 

 to one side of the corral are most valuable in attracting the herd and 

 inducing it to enter. As the reindeer rush into the corral the herders 

 run iif behind to line up at the entrance, and the gap in the fence is 

 then closed up. In the corral the herd continues to mill for some 

 time before quieting down. 



HANDLING IN CORRAL 



The corralled animals are now put through the chute for handling. 

 A crew of about 20 men is usually employed, including 1 tally man, 

 3 men to mark or brand. 2 men to perform castration, from 8 to 10 

 men to throw and hold the animals. 2 men on the platform at the 

 end of the chute to catch and pass out animals (1 of these to paint 

 also). 1 gatekeeper at the end of the chute, and 1 or 2 men to tend 

 the pockets. To start work, the gates leading from the main corral 

 into the pockets are opened. Part of the crew then cuts out and 

 drives a small bunch of the reindeer into the pockets, enough to fill 

 them comfortably: then the gates are closed. The men then take 

 their stations, and the gate leading into the chute is opened and two 

 or three animals are driven through, those that remain in the pocket 

 being held in check. The gatekeeper at the outer end of the chute 

 opens the gate, and the animals, seeing a way of escape, rush for 

 freedom. The gate is closed just before they reach it. Each animal 

 is then seized and held by the horns by a man on the platform and 

 passed out singly to the handling crew outside, where the reindeer 

 is thrown and marked or castrated, or both. Animals that have 

 previously been marked are merely recorded by the tally man and 

 allowed to pass through without being caught. 



As the man working in the pockets regulates the passing of animals 

 into the chute, upon him depends to a large extent the speed of 

 handling. As soon as the chute is emptied each time, he drives 

 another two or three animals into it, rei>eating the process until the 

 pocket is emptied. He then closes the gate to the chute while driv- 

 ing more animals in from the other pocket. Work is further 

 facilitated by his calling out the age and sex of the animals passing 

 into the chute to let the handling crew know what is coming. 

 Animals may be handled under this method at the rate of 300 or 

 more an hour. 



One man stationed at the end of the chute, either the gatekeeper 

 or one of the men on the platform, is detailed to call out ownership, 

 age, and sex of animals as they pass through. This man should be 

 the best informed on the various ear marks or brands in the herd. 

 The tally man records all animals by ownership, sex, and age as 

 they are called out and also directs to whom unmarked animals shall 

 be allotted. 



As the reindeer are passed out at the end of the chute, they are 

 successively grasped by the horns by the men standing in line out- 

 side waiting to receive them. Each yearling and fawn is thrown by 

 one man. Yearlings^ are thrown by grasping the near horn in both 

 hands, the left hand near the end, the right grasping a prong nearer 

 the head. The animal is twisted over on its right side as it strug- 

 gles. Fawns are gi-asped by a horn with one hand and by a flank 

 with the other. A^ they are lifted their feet are thrown from under 



