CASTRATING.
Before the kids are allowed to go out with the flock the males should be castrated. The Turk does not alter the males until they have developed sexuality and the male horn, i. e., the heavy characteristic buck horn. He then castrates by either removing the testicles, or by twisting or destroying the spermatic cord. When the latter method is used the testicles and cord undergo an inflammatory process which destroys the regenerative power of the animal. The testicles remain in the scrotum apparently unchanged. The animal thus treated presents to the casual observer the physical characteristics of a buck. The Turk claims that an animal treated in this manner is less liable to die than one whose testicles are removed. This is probably true, as the initial lesion produced by the operation is very small, and there is less liability of infection.
The usual method employed in this country is to remove the testicles before the regenerative power of the animal is developed. This gives the wether a feminine appearance, and there is comparatively little danger of death if the operation is properly performed. It will be easiest to castrate the kids between the age of two and four weeks. The kids should be driven into a small clean corral, and after undergoing the operation they should be turned into a large clean enclosure.
The operator stands on the outside of the small corral, and the assistant catches the kids and turns them belly up before the operator, onto a board which has been fastened to the fence. A pair of clean scissors, or a sharp knife, which may be kept in a five per cent. carbolic acid solution when not in use, serve to cut off the distal end of the scrotum. The testicles are then seized with the fingers and drawn out. The operator drops the castrated kid into the large enclosure and the assistant presents another kid. Two men can operate on sixty kids an hour. The testicles are slippery and some herders prefer to use the teeth instead of the fingers to extract the testicles. Under no circumstances should any unclean thing be put into the scrotum. Death usually results from infection, and infection from uncleanliness. A little boracic acid might be sprinkled over the cut surface as an additional precaution, but this is unnecessary if ordinary cleanliness is observed. If after a few days the kid's scrotum swells, and does not discharge, the scrotum should be opened with a clean instrument. Less than one-half of one per cent. of the kids will die from this operation.