![]() Stock on range receive sufficient exercise while grazing. The goats require exercise for maintaining themselves in a good condition. Castration improves the flesh of the adult buck. The best time for castrating bucks is when they are six months old with the Burdizzo instrument. For this reason males are castrated with an emasculator, or torsion forceps. Male goats are raised mainly for meat and not for breeding. This should be done in winter when flies are not troublesome. Mature goats can be dehorned by sawing off the horns close to the head with a meat saw. 'The kid should be muzzled gently so that it can breathe freely otherwise partial suffocation may occur. An electric de homer can also be used safely. Caustic soda should not come into contact with the eyes. The hair should be clipped from around the horn-bud, and this area covered with petroleum jelly to protect it from caustic soda or potash, which should be thoroughly rubbed on the bud until the horn-bud is well blistered. This should be done when the male kid is two to five days old and the female kid is up to 12 days old. The tattooing system is used almost universally. Age of eruption of teeth serves as a reasonable and dependable guide for judging maturity.Įach goat in a herd should be marked in the same manner by using some identification mark such as tattooing, metal ear-tags or notching of the ears. ![]() Wearing of teeth depends upon the type of feed and care given to the animals. ![]() The teeth start wearing four to six weeks after eruption. ![]() Once all the permanent teeth have developed the degree of wear and tear gives a rough indication of age. Occasionally teeth develop much more quickly and the goat may have all its permanent teeth by the time it is three years old. When the kid is 12 to 14 months old the central pair is shed and is replaced by two large permanent teeth when 24 to 26 months old two more small teeth are shed and are replaced by two large teeth, one on each side of the first pair when 36 to 38 months old there are six permanent teeth, and when 48 to 50 months old a complete set of four pairs of permanent teeth are present. The kid at birth, or shortly afterwards, has teeth on the lower jaw. The age of a goat judged from its front teeth (incisors) on the lower jaw. ![]()
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