CAE certified vs tested

I'm a bit confused on this point. Are there breeders/herds 'certified cae free'? Or is that just the term applied if they have been tested and get negative results. I hear both terms used, and wondering if some people just test and others have herds that are completely free of it, including any babies that herd may have, if that makes sense. 

 

Reason I'm asking is my family is interested in breeding and selling in the future *possibly*, and if we wanted to be CAE free - do we need to buy from a breeder with such a herd, or do we need to test our goats ourselves (does it pop back up again in the genetics). And then the big question - is it necessary to bottle feed all our baby goats to guarantee they don't have it and sell them as 'certified cae free'? I would MUCH rather prefer to raise them on their mothers than go through bottle feeding.

 

I really appreciate any clarification, this will be very important for us in deciding who to buy from.

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  • CAE testing only tells you if an animal has been exposed to the disease. It's actually a rotovirus, the same base virus that causes AIDS in humans. You can test for anit-bodies, but cannot currently tell if the animal is carrying the virus or just been exposed to it. It can be passed from all body fluids, not just milk. Water and feed containers shared, walking through the CAE pen and then into the non-CAE pen, etc. can expose your entire herd, and the same goes for visiting farms with goats and sheep. Pasteurization does not always kill the virus either, and this leads to the issue of bottle-feeding. How do you know that the source of the formula or cows milk is free of CAE?

     

    All formula and store milk comes from a huge number of animals and the milk all combined. I would say you still stand a risk from feeding with bottles. There are many animals that can "carry" the virus and it never be detected, and it can pop up at any point in the animals life. While testing yearly can help control the spread of the virus, and pasteurizing/bottle feeding can help control it as well, you are never truly insulated against it.

     

    Personally, I feel that pasteurization alters the healthfulness of the milk, and prefer to make sure my animals are tested free before kidding and dam-raise. If I get a positive doe, she has to be culled and I will have to test every 6 months for 3 times to hopefully make certain no other does are infected. I am not so sure that the milk from a CAE positive animal is really safe for people to drink either, though we are told it is safe. I know there are studies showing links to Crones disease in humans and Johnes in animals, specifically from cows milk, and they didn't think there were any links at first.  There are people who keep CAE animals in separate pens and bottle-feed kids with success and drink the milk from CAE positive animals themselves, so it's very much a personal decision at this point for breeders.

  • ok thanks that does make sense.

     

    Anyone else thoughts on whether I need to bottle feed or not?

  • ok thanks - sounds like its just an interchangeable term then (or a sales gimmick perhaps). 

     

    Is it necessary to bottle feed all baby goats to guarantee they don't have it and sell them as cae negative? I'd prefer not to bottle feed if I can help it. In other words if the parents are both negative, can I just let the doe raise the kid and then test it before putting them up for sale?

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