Mis-information and disease......

Well, I went back to the fair on Thursday, armed with my print-outs.
I first talked to a very nice girl who was watching the animal exhibit. I explained that I was not trying to make trouble, but that there were diseased goats on the premises. She listened to my concerns, but obviously had no idea what I was talking about. I showed her the lumps, she said she would go get her supervisor.
I waited, but when she got back, she just said that they would inform the vet and he would look at them. This vet supposedly *did* inspect these particular goats as they came in. So I asked to speak to the vet, but he wasn't on site at the moment.
So I went to the livestock office and talked to the two ladies there. I explained the seriousness of this disease and why as a goat breeder I was concerned about it. One lady had an extremely skeptical look on her face, the other one seemed to be listening. The skeptical lady said she would tell the vet and they must abide by his decision because he was a "professional".
I told her that I understood that, and I didn't expect them to evict the exhibit goats this year by any means. But that if I saw obvious indications of disease contaminated goats in the exhibit next year, I was going to create a much bigger ruckus than my nice objections this year.
I asked her to give the print-outs to the vet when he came to re-inspect the goats.
I pretty much just felt blown off. But I did point it out, I made my objections, now it is up to them. I will be watching closely next year.......
I didn't mention the mis-information on the "fact sheet". Figuring I might be taken more seriously on the more serious subject of CL, if I didn't seem to be nit-picking.
Oh, and I found out that two different farms brought those four goats for the exhibit. So one goat from *each* farm has CL. Yikes.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

Gah! I could just spit, the attitudes people have toward goats!

The most frustrating attitudes I've dealt with is the "Oh, CAE is just overblown and hyped. I don't know ANYONE whose goats have it!" Or, "I know a goat who tested positive, and she's as healthy and nice looking as can be!"

The other one? "Every herd has CL."

It's enough to make you chew your own foot off...

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

BTW - Good for you, going back there and handling the situation so diplomatically.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Good job Ozark Jewells, Maybe it will make them think twice about it next year(If they ever did tell the vet, and if he actually looked at them) A lot of things fall through the cracks at fairs. There is so much stuff going on, and the powers that be don't understand goats or goat people.

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COSO Farms Web Page: http://www.cosofarmslamanchas.com/

COSO Farms Face Book Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/COSO-F...45087715522558

Did you explain that CL was zootonic and was like herpes and you never get rid of it?
I feel you on many areas of this, as far as the local vet that dose our 4h inspections he is aware of Cl and hoof rot and will not give a certificate if they present signs. He almost didnt give me one because I had banded a waddle and though it had fell off there was still a pink spot there that wasnt covered by hair. Thankfully the waddle area was lower, had it been higher he wouldnt have let me pass.

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I'm a goat person, not a people person,
De @ Udderly Southern Dairy Goats
we will be adding a new breed in the spring

It's too bad there are so many folks out there like the one's you encountered at your fair. It makes a bad name for all of us with goats. So many of them just don't even seemed interested enough to get proper information! It's so sad!
So glad you went back Emily, I hope they listen to you & take heed to what you have said, or I'd surely be causing that ruckus next year too!

~smiles~ These are the reasons I don't go to fairs and don't get involved with groups. I'll happily talk to people one-on-one who need help locally, but I do NOT bring my goats ANYWHERE outside of my property. If I go to them, I can come home, go directly to the shower, shed my clothes directly into the washer with anti-virals and anti-bacterials, go shower myself in the same, and be decontaminated.

And maybe I am a hermit. And maybe I am paranoid. And maybe I just worry too much. However, I have a *clean* herd, and that is far more than you can say about most of the herds around here.

My mother thinks it is hilarious, as I am not germ-obsessed in any other area. If I drop my sandwich, I'll pick it up, dust it off, and eat it.

However, when it comes to goat and the passage of disease, I am *fanatical*.

On the vets, I was talking to DH the other day about that, because he was completely confused as to why I wanted to order a bunch of meds, vaccines, SQ vitamins, etc., when we have a PERFECTLY good vet who actually KNOWS goats right handy. I looked at him like he had grown horns and then patiently explained...

"Darling, sweetheart, light of my life, we are VERY lucky *right now*. We live practically next door to one of the best Veterinary Universities in the country. We are blessed to have a GOOD Vet that was trained at that University and who also has many years worth of experience with ALL livestock, chickens, goats, sheep, hogs, etc., included...not just cattle and horses.

However, such is not likely to be the case forever. The family has already been talking of selling the farm in order to buy something larger in some place different. Probably much further North. Therefore, do you just want to trust that, where ever we go, there will be a good, knowledgeable Vet that is handy to us? Remember not being able to find one of those in Colorado? OR, do you want to see this as an opportunity and LEARN as much as we can from our EXCELLENT Vet, so that if we find ourselves someplace that either does not have a livestock vet, or has one that says "What's a Nubian?", we will be able to treat our goats ourselves? I assure you that PLENTY of people in the goat forum DO suffer from a lack of a good Vet for their goats, and not all of them live out in the middle of nowhere!"

He tugged on his mustache and then told me, "I see your point." There was no more complaining about how much I was spending on stuff for the first aid kit.

And I didn't even have to bring up that a ranch visit from our vet cost $60 all by itself.

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Peace,
Caliann

"First, Show me in the Bible where it says you can save someone's soul by annoying the hell out of them." -- Chuck