"My vet just told me I only need to test for CAE once in a lifetime not yearly like I thought. New goats without documentation would. I have been told all along this needs to be done annually and I believe most breeders require it. I am hoping to breed my girls this fall for the first time. I had it done last year but made the decision to wait based on their size. He was out to check out my alpacas and when I asked him about doing the CAE testing he wondered why I was doing it again.
Is this true?
Replies
True and you do want to wait at least 30 days after breeding for pregnancy test. I bought a starter kit from BioTracking for about $15 and drew the blood. Sent it to them at a cost of 4.00 or 4.50 for cae and 6.00 pregnancy. We found out Marley was pregnant this way. But I am interested in getting the other test done so I am going to get my herd tested through WADDL later for everything and then if I want a preg. test done I will just send those to Bio-Tracking.
Yes you can find them easy enough if you google them.
I love finding out about preg. test. It is so exciting.
You can get false negatives, especially when using AGID, which is the most common test. ELISA is much more sensitive, so false negatives are pretty rare, although goats take about six months to seroconvert, so if you test too soon after exposure, they would test negative. If you are showing or bringing new goats into your herd, you should probably test annually because there is ample opportunity for exposure. There are a lot of unanswered questions about how it is transmitted, but blood and milk are definitely vehicles for transmission. Some people also think nasal secretions and saliva, which is why they worry about casual contact. I do know two herds that tested negative for years, but they showed, and one day she had goats popping up positive.
I've done tests myself and sent them to WADDL (Washington State). From a single blood draw, you can have them test for CAE, Johnes, CL, and brucellosis. And they do the ELISA test, as does BioTracking. BioTracking can do pregnancy tests with the same blood, which is why some people like to do the test a month after breeding to check for preg status, as well as CAE in one blood draw.
I am in the same boat with Janel. Where can I get info on DIY?
I am needing to do this. Where is the information on doing it yourself? My vet can do it, but it is probably more expensive than doing it myself. Thanks for the help!!
That is true, but I have heard that testing should be after a year old. I believe it may also be that they can start out testing negative early on even if they are really positive. That may not be accurate but it would be something to check on because I have heard that. I prefer to test yearly because as Rebecca said most people want to buy from someone who has their herd tested yearly or at least close to it like maybe every 12-18 months.
FYI I don't know what your vet charges or if it is worth it to you, but you can handle these yourself also without a vet.
I have always done it every year. Kids under 6 months of age do not need to be done. Some people have Closed herds and have bucks on the property so they stop testing. Personally I think I would always do it especially if I am breeding because it is easier to sell nigerians when you have proof of a CAE negative herd status.