In the corral method, two or three large corrals and numerous smaller
ones are necessary. First, the does should be separated from the
wethers, if they have been running together, and a "wether band" made.
Then every morning the "doe band" must be looked over carefully for does
that will kid during the day. Such does must be put in a corral by
themselves and allowed to kid in this corral. They should be fed some
hay, or if that is not possible, they should be herded near by for a few
hours. It has been our experience that most of the kids will come
between the hours of ten in the morning and four in the afternoon. The
more does which one can pick out in the morning the better it is, for
the doe, after dropping her kid, is allowed to stay with it the rest of
the day and all night. In this way she learns to know it. If one has hay
to feed the doe, so that she may be left with her kid for one or two
days, it is a great advantage.
After all the does have been selected which can be found, still some
will be overlooked, and they will go out on the range with the rest. The
best way to handle these is to have the herder make a straight drive to
a certain point where the feed is good, and then stay around this one
place, allowing the kids to come within as small a radius as possible
without starving the goats. If it is necessary, quite a distance can be
covered in this way, and yet the kids will not be scattered over a large
section of the country.
As a kid is dropped, the doe should be allowed to remain with her kid
and take care of it until evening. The herd will gradually feed from
them, but it should be kept as near as possible to protect the kids from
wild animals. Towards evening one must go out and gather up the kids and
drive the mothers to the corral. The large herd should be driven home
in advance, keeping a little apart from the does with kids so as not to
coax the "wet does" away with the "dry herd."
When the wagon with the kids reaches the ranch, the kids should be put
in a small corral. They should be placed a few feet apart, and the
mothers should be allowed to select their own kids. They also should be
allowed to remain in the corral for the night at least. In case a doe
will not take her kid she should be placed in one of the box stalls and
a kid which has no mother placed with her and fed.
When plenty of small corrals and good hay are available, each day's kids
should be left in a separate corral until the mothers have been with the
kids one or two days. It will be found that the kids are always given a
very good start in this way. When it is deemed advisable, the kids are
put together in a large corral, and as soon as the mothers in the
smaller corrals are thought to know their kids sufficiently well, they
are added to this wet band in the large corral. Thus the round is
completed from the dry band to the wet band, the small corral being
simply an intermediate step to insure familiarity between the doe and
her kid. The dry band rapidly diminishes while the wet band increases.
The mothers are now ready to go on the range during the day to feed, but
the kids should be kept in the corral until they are at least six weeks
old. The does may be turned out over a "jump board" placed across the
gate. A jump board is a two-inch plank, eighteen inches high, with a
four-inch strip nailed on the top for the does to put their feet on as
they jump over. The kids come to the board but cannot get over. If some
of the larger kids bother by trying to get over, some one can stand at
the gate to scare them back by pounding on the board with a stick. The
does will soon learn to pay no attention to the noise.
[Illustration: THOROUGHBRED ANGORA DOE.]
Even now there will be a few kids which will not be mothered. Every
morning, before the wet band is allowed to go over the jump board, one
should walk through the herd, pick out the kids that have not been
nourished during the night, and select does that are not suckling kids.
These does should be held until the kids have been fed. A row of small
stantions is a convenient thing for holding them. After a kid gets a
good start he will steal a living from different does if necessary.
To kid a band of from one thousand to fifteen hundred does by the corral
method, will require at least three men--one man to herd the dry band,
one the wet band, and a man to look after the kids and assist where
needed. Often the wet band is divided, or when one wet band has reached
the number of from five hundred to seven hundred animals, another is
started.