Am I buying healthy goats? How do I know

samssimonsays

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Ok, so everything I read, hear and know screams that CAE is not good, am I correct at that? Same with CL and such. So IF I have that correct, then how do I know if whoever I am buying from is being honest when they state that they are free of these things? Is there a documentation I can request to be presented with or is it the honor code? I have been looking for Nubian does and got super excited to have found one not terribly far away but I read the info and it was posted clear as day....
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I am so new to this I wanted to ask to make sure because she is a very nice looking do, as are the others they have listed... Is this a goat to stay away from? I mean, if she even is just a carrier, she can still pass it to offspring and if they show symptoms they can pass it to my other goats correct? Sadly, even though they have some very nice looking goats, I am not willing to risk bringing something bad into my small herd. WHich is why I am coming to you guys about this. Because even though you have never met me, you still have my herds health in mind.

Thank you for any advice you can give!
 

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Hens and Roos

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when we purchased the 3 does- the person selling them provided paper work showing that her herd had all been tested and found neg. for CAE, CL and Johne's.

We also test and have the paper work showing neg. test results that can be provided to anyone buying our goats.

personally, we wouldn't take the chance on it...but that's just us.
 

OneFineAcre

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when we purchased the 3 does- the person selling them provided paper work showing that her herd had all been tested and found neg. for CAE, CL and Johne's.

We also test and have the paper work showing neg. test results that can be provided to anyone buying our goats.

personally, we wouldn't take the chance on it...but that's just us.

X2
 

samssimonsays

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Do not get a CAE positive goat.

We provide documentation of our testing to our clients.
We now make sure we SEE the documentation of any goat we are considering.
Thank you! I was unaware of any documentation for this so it is a huge relief! I will most certainly not buy her. I didn't want to risk it to begin with. I can rest easier now though knowing that all I have to do is request the paperwork for them when we do find some available.
 

Southern by choice

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Forgot to add... that is just the testing aspect. When looking at goats you need to examine the goat also familiarize yourself with how to check eyelids- FAMACHA method.
You will not have a card unless you are certified but understanding helps.
Ask about their parasite history, kinds of dewormers used, frequency.

Every goat should have a fecal run once coming to your farm at about 4 - 7 days. Parasitic blooms happen when goat is stressed, transport new home etc is a stressor.
 

samssimonsays

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Forgot to add... that is just the testing aspect. When looking at goats you need to examine the goat also familiarize yourself with how to check eyelids- FAMACHA method.
You will not have a card unless you are certified but understanding helps.
Ask about their parasite history, kinds of dewormers used, frequency.

Every goat should have a fecal run once coming to your farm at about 4 - 7 days. Parasitic blooms happen when goat is stressed, transport new home etc is a stressor.
This is great info! :) I can definitely do that! I didn't with the first three and was fortunate enough not to have any issues with them but I know that was lucky... I do not want to risk anything when adding to our healthy herd. I am super careful with rabbits but I have over 10 years experience raising and showing them. Goats, not so much. We would like to do the county fair with them but that is about it at the moment.... Any advice on what to look for in that department in Nubians as well?
 

Southern by choice

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With Nubians you also need to see if they test for G6S.
http://www.goatworld.com/articles/g6s.shtml

If you have not tested your own herd for CAE, CL, and Johnes you should.

Often people are thinking I have a healthy herd... yet they don't test and therefore really are basing their assumptions by what they see.

If goats are being run with cattle you have a higher chance of having Johnes. Johnes really isn't detectable til 18 months and their are several tiers of testing.

here is info on Johnes-
http://www.johnes.org/

As far as CL- People that say "I have never had a lump" doesn't mean much. CL can be internal too. Testing isn't great for this but just a heads up... CL in meat goats is all to common and somewhat acceptable to meat producers but you don't want it in a dairy herd... dairy goats mixed with untested meat goats will have a higher probability of CL

Finding a herd that tests yearly and is consecutively negative gives you your best "results" as far as a clean herd. Testing 1x is not very conclusive. If someone tests for 3-5 years consecutively has pretty much a closed herd (only buying from other clean herds) then the liklihood of the farm being truly negative is a better indicator.

Johnes & CL are zoonotic . Johnes is passed through milk and is NOT killed by pasteurization.
 

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