Testing for CAE, etc. . .

Bluemountainkid · #1 10/02/08, 07:52 PM

so, for testing for CAE, (and CL?) you have to draw blood right? from where? and then you send it off some place? where do you send it? previously we had our vet do it, but I think it'd be good for us to learn.
Thanks,

Bluemountainkid

P.S. what exactly is CL?

**mygoat** · #2 10/02/08, 08:47 PM

For information on the diseases, please look to the sticky on CL and CAE. Very informative.

Testing is a blood test. Blood is drawn easily from the neck, and sent to your lab of choice - there are many. It's relatively inexpensive and well worth it to have negative goats. Testing need only be done yearly in a main herd, with incoming goats being isolated and tested at LEAST twice before introduction to main herd.

If you're showing or otherwise taking goats off the farm, it's recommended to do a 2x per year testing of your stock.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #3 10/03/08, 01:02 AM

Might want to put dairygoatinfo.com in your favorites and go to goatkeeping 101 when you have questions like this. We have all the testing labs contact info and also a link to how to draw blood, put on by a 12 year old so you will have confidence you can do this. We have a young gal on our forum, part of a family since we don't allow minors on our forum, who fecal samples for herds around here, I need to make a video of her so old folks can have confidence they also can fecal

For personal use I use PAVL it's $6 tests for CAE. You can also use biotracking.com which is great this time of year becaue for $7 more you can also blood test to see if they are pregnant. I send to UCDavis for CL testing.

It's important to know what lab tests with what test and what it means to be negative or positive with the test.

Read the sticky and then ask questions if you still have them, there is an alphabet soup of things to learn about goats. vicki

jBlaze · #4 10/09/08, 11:17 AM

And don't let the debate scare you. Look on the university sites for more up to date info. There is are a LOT of conflicting information. I beleive that WSU is the primary research university for CAE. They even tell you the charges and how to package and ship.

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians · #5 10/09/08, 03:39 PM

WSU is a research university that has not given us one new piece of information since they started testing for CAE with Ellisa. Ellisa tests which you can find other places cheaper that show you your titer levels on the forms. Tens of thousands of dollars of dairy goat money in a university that does not give us any more info in what 15-18 years? In their first year biotracking.com already has listened and is giving us our titer levels. Pregnancy tests and CAE, they have listened to what breeders are wanting. Vicki

jBlaze · #6 10/09/08, 04:01 PM

Odd, Vicky, I am sure you know more about it than I do, but I found their Spring 2007 CAE Update to be helpful:
Update On Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) Virus
Spring, 2007
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/caefaq.aspx

?
Looks like Biotracking does the testing but where else can we go to look for current information??