Possible CL Contamination - Goats

[KidMandy]

The lump was located between his neck and his shoulder, but it didn't resemble the images of CL lumps I found online. It was more like a large swollen area. It was not discoloured, golf ball-sized, or hard. It was similar to water under the skin - soft, warm, and squishy, and the skin was normal-coloured and he did not lose his hair. It was the size of my hand.

With regards to bio-security, I believe this buck was destined for slaughter, so they were fine with him leaving the farm for an extended period. It was even suggested that we just keep him indefinitely as we do not have a buck of our own, and will have to find one every time we are ready to breed. However, I felt it was odd that, even if the buck was going to be slaughtered, it was okay for him to leave the farm and then be returned.

We live in a very small community where 'everyone knows each other.' I think in our case, it was a neighbor helping a neighbor (even though we are just recent acquaintances). We don't really have a herd - just a doe and her two kids - and they have not been tested for CL. The farmers who sold us the doe have since retired and sold off their herd. It never occurred to us to ask if they had tested for CL, but our doe has never had any lesions or abscesses. I know that doesn't really mean anything, but she's been with us for three years now.

Thank you everyone for your comments and insight. Talking about this makes me feel like I still don't know enough about goats and herd management.

 

[Sweetened]

Biosecurity is... well, questionable in so many ways. I don't quarantine anything here, I have 15 acres and not enough outbuildings. We have wild birds and mice and barn cats, so me changing my shoes or going into one barn last or -whatever- other practices is moot, because the cats don't give a damn about biosecurity, nor do the birds and so on.

People here often "lease out" goats. They'll drop a buck off for 42 days for a fee, you feed and water them and so on, then they come back and pick them up. Some require testing documentation, others don't. They do it with bulls, and bucks out here, but because of scrapie laws, typically it's not done with Rams (not publically anyway, I'm sure).

You have to do what's right for YOU. No matter how careful you are, how fastidiously clean, how often you're out there bleaching walls and shoveling crap and so on, something will happen to the best of everyone. Someone will get hurt, someone will get sick, someone will die, someone will pull through from the brink of death, whether you treat naturally, chemically or not at all.

YOU, dear, are doing wonderfully, and researching is great. Do NOT let the information scare you. Looking up goat and livestock management is like typing in symptoms into google and opening up WebMD. "Heart palpitations, nervousnessness, bouncy leg, twitchy eye." *Click find, open WebMD Link:* HEART FAILURE, HEART ATTACK, EMERGENCY, RUN TO HOSPITAL NOW, or stress.

It's more than likely stress, but now you're worried that your symptoms may cause mayhem and a prolonged torturous death.

 

[Southern by choice]

So true... I swear more people think the absolute worst when it comes to a small matter. Bio-security does only go so far but at the same time I am not going to purposely buy a doe that has CAE, CL, or the worst yet Johnnes... I certainly wouldn't want to bring in an animal that I have no documentation on and expose my herd. Bottom line is if your herd is not closed, you take any animals off and on property you are at risk. Most of the time nothing will happen, sometimes it could be simple like mites but sometimes respiratory illnesses, etc.

 

[babsbag]

Here is some more reading on CL from UC Davis

http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/local-...S_Connection_Small_Ruminant_edition_final.pdf

 

[KidMandy]

Is it strange that I still haven't heard from the farmer who 'lent' us the buck? I have to admit, I'm a little peeved that it is now costing us about $150 to have this testing done, and technically, we do not own this goat. Though I do realize we are responsible for bringing him here, and potentially infecting our goats.

 

[Southern by choice]

Is it strange that I still haven't heard from the farmer who 'lent' us the buck? I have to admit, I'm a little peeved that it is now costing us about $150 to have this testing done, and technically, we do not own this goat. Though I do realize we are responsible for bringing him here, and potentially infecting our goats.

So sorry for this ordeal.

Why is it costing so much? UC Davis charges $14.50 for out of state CL tests.

 

[KidMandy]

So sorry for this ordeal.

Why is it costing so much? UC Davis charges $14.50 for out of state CL tests.

I'm in Ontario, Canada. Our vet charges a fee to come out to take the culture (we don't have anything here to do it ourselves - maybe we should stock up!) and she told us it was about $50 +tax to have the culture tested at the lab. I'm hoping she's over estimated the cost, as I don't believe their call fee is more than $50, but I could be wrong.

 

[Sweetened]

Are they charging mileage?

Im in SK, and my vet charges 2.75/km, 150 for a farm call, an exam fee of 30$, and thats just to get started. Blood draw is another 30 plus testing, and so on, and she is -the best price- anywhere.

 

[Sweetened]

And if you can, load the goat and bring it there, itll reduce your cost.

 

[KidMandy]

Are they charging mileage?

Im in SK, and my vet charges 2.75/km, 150 for a farm call, an exam fee of 30$, and thats just to get started. Blood draw is another 30 plus testing, and so on, and she is -the best price- anywhere.

Just looking at our last bill - it was $44 for the appointment (for them to come here - we are 23kms from their office), and $45 for the "minimum professional fee" - this particular visit we were having our young buck castrated with a burdizzo. On top of that fee were the menial charges for the meds to sedate and freeze him. Whatever they come here to do is usually covered under the professional fee. I've never noticed an extra charge for drawing blood or other procedures.

So I guess the fee for the visit this week will be about $90 (appointment plus professional fee to examine him and take the swab), plus the cost of the actual test at the lab. So, ugh, $150.