I have a new herd and want to test them this fall before I breed them. I see bio tracking has a CAE test that I take a sample of blood and send in, is this the way to go, or does a vet need to do it? Two of my goats are only about 5months old now, are they ok to test now? Thanks alot angie
Views: 570
You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!
You really should start a new thread on this. The only people who will get notified about this question are those that have been following this old discussion.
Debbie Nightingale said:
Along this thread, but a little different question. We are about to start doing farm tours as part of our business, making goat milk edibles and skin care. Everyone is curious about our little Nigerians and want to meet them and we love having people meet them. Just wondering how others deal with biosecurity when having people visit the farm. Are they allowed in the pens? Is patting from outside ok? Do they need boot wash before going into the barn? Would love to hear how others deal with this.
Along this thread, but a little different question. We are about to start doing farm tours as part of our business, making goat milk edibles and skin care. Everyone is curious about our little Nigerians and want to meet them and we love having people meet them. Just wondering how others deal with biosecurity when having people visit the farm. Are they allowed in the pens? Is patting from outside ok? Do they need boot wash before going into the barn? Would love to hear how others deal with this.
Johnes blood testing has a pretty high rate of false negatives, so a single negative test for a single goat doesn't say much. If a herd has had multiple years of negative Johnes testing, that is more reliable because if Johnes is in a herd, someone is going to test positive at some point. The other thing about Johnes is that if a herd has been around for at least five years and they haven't added any new animals and don't show, the odds of them having Johnes is pretty low because goats would be dieing within a few years if they had Johnes. It's a chronic wasting disease.
They say most goats should test positive within six months of exposure. It just depends on how fast their body starts producing antibodies. I did our last whole herd test more than a year after our last show.
I'm not really sure on that one. Deborah probably knows, though.
I will say from what I've read, it seems that Johnes would incubate the longest. It's fecal-oral transmission, but it can take a long time for an infected goat to start "shedding." Johnes is common in cattle, and goats can get it from exposure to them as well.
For CAE and CL, I don't think I've read anything about the incubation period before goats will test positive, other than kids having false positives. I'm sure the information is out there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.
The closest I've seen is the recommendation to retest new stock after quarantine and before introducing to the herd, but I don't remember an exact time frame for when the diseases would show up after exposure...
Ditto on what Rachel said. We haven't done a whole herd test since 2009, but we bought our last doe in 2005 and quit showing in 2008. We bought two bucks in 2010, both of whom came from CAE negative herds, and both of whom have tested negative here. And from the time that we bought our first goats in 2002 until 2009, we had all negative test results. But if someone just bought their first goats a year or two ago, they should be doing annual testing.
Test results are only good until a goat is exposed to another goat. So someone could test their whole herd today and get all negatives and go to a show tomorrow and pick up a disease or buy a new goat and bring home a disease. If someone is starting a herd, they should be doing annual testing for at least 3-4 years after they buy their last doe. If they show, they should be testing at least annually. Some people test every six months if they show.
I would think that would be a judgement call. For me, it would depend on how well I knew the breeder, if I'd worked with them before, how many times their herd had been tested, if they'd brought in new animals or been to a show since the last test, etc.
Personally, unless I knew a breeder well and had bought from them before, I would want a more recent test. I'd also want a more recent test if they'd added new animals or taken their goats to shows.
What if it has been a year since they've been tested and the results were negative. Should you still ask for new test results? How long are test results good for?
Breeders with websites usually have their results on there. But if they don't have a website or don't have results up, you should ask as soon as you know you're interested in buying a goat from them. There is no point in wasting time discussing goats if testing is important to you. And if you want any goats tested, you definitely need to ask about having that done ASAP because it can take 2-3 weeks to get results, depending upon the vet's schedule and the lab.
Replies
You really should start a new thread on this. The only people who will get notified about this question are those that have been following this old discussion.
Debbie Nightingale said:
Along this thread, but a little different question. We are about to start doing farm tours as part of our business, making goat milk edibles and skin care. Everyone is curious about our little Nigerians and want to meet them and we love having people meet them. Just wondering how others deal with biosecurity when having people visit the farm. Are they allowed in the pens? Is patting from outside ok? Do they need boot wash before going into the barn? Would love to hear how others deal with this.
Johnes blood testing has a pretty high rate of false negatives, so a single negative test for a single goat doesn't say much. If a herd has had multiple years of negative Johnes testing, that is more reliable because if Johnes is in a herd, someone is going to test positive at some point. The other thing about Johnes is that if a herd has been around for at least five years and they haven't added any new animals and don't show, the odds of them having Johnes is pretty low because goats would be dieing within a few years if they had Johnes. It's a chronic wasting disease.
They say most goats should test positive within six months of exposure. It just depends on how fast their body starts producing antibodies. I did our last whole herd test more than a year after our last show.
I'm not really sure on that one. Deborah probably knows, though.
I will say from what I've read, it seems that Johnes would incubate the longest. It's fecal-oral transmission, but it can take a long time for an infected goat to start "shedding." Johnes is common in cattle, and goats can get it from exposure to them as well.
For CAE and CL, I don't think I've read anything about the incubation period before goats will test positive, other than kids having false positives. I'm sure the information is out there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.
The closest I've seen is the recommendation to retest new stock after quarantine and before introducing to the herd, but I don't remember an exact time frame for when the diseases would show up after exposure...
Thank you for the information. Another question that I have now.
How soon after exposure to another goat, whether showing or breeding should testing occur? How long is the incubation period?
Ditto on what Rachel said. We haven't done a whole herd test since 2009, but we bought our last doe in 2005 and quit showing in 2008. We bought two bucks in 2010, both of whom came from CAE negative herds, and both of whom have tested negative here. And from the time that we bought our first goats in 2002 until 2009, we had all negative test results. But if someone just bought their first goats a year or two ago, they should be doing annual testing.
Test results are only good until a goat is exposed to another goat. So someone could test their whole herd today and get all negatives and go to a show tomorrow and pick up a disease or buy a new goat and bring home a disease. If someone is starting a herd, they should be doing annual testing for at least 3-4 years after they buy their last doe. If they show, they should be testing at least annually. Some people test every six months if they show.
I would think that would be a judgement call. For me, it would depend on how well I knew the breeder, if I'd worked with them before, how many times their herd had been tested, if they'd brought in new animals or been to a show since the last test, etc.
Personally, unless I knew a breeder well and had bought from them before, I would want a more recent test. I'd also want a more recent test if they'd added new animals or taken their goats to shows.
What if it has been a year since they've been tested and the results were negative. Should you still ask for new test results? How long are test results good for?
Breeders with websites usually have their results on there. But if they don't have a website or don't have results up, you should ask as soon as you know you're interested in buying a goat from them. There is no point in wasting time discussing goats if testing is important to you. And if you want any goats tested, you definitely need to ask about having that done ASAP because it can take 2-3 weeks to get results, depending upon the vet's schedule and the lab.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next