Once we get goats what test should be done.

[littlequail]

Hi there my name is heather we will be Homesteading soon! Right now we live in iowa, but soon we will be moving to Florida to a Large Farm, we have never lived on a farm or owned any Livestock. However I have Basic Farming skills (used to work with horses and do basic care on Cows, chickens, goats, and pigs) but its been about five or so years since I have. Since we will be moving I have been reading up on care and info on many animals. We know that we would like some Milk goats & a few sheep as are First animals. However I have never been introduce in to the diseases of livestock. And with little searching I have found a few things I have questions about.

Once I get the animals to are farm, What test should be Done.

I understand to test the Milk goats for CAE and Johne's Disease

((Because not only does it spread but the animals can seem healthy until it has spread so much It kills the animals and there is No Known cure for Both Diseases.))

Is there anything else I should be testing for? What gets Passed by the Doe from the Milk, Although I will be pasteurizing I would like to know my animals are Indeed safe and healthy, Also are there other animals that can also get these Diseases since later on we May be getting a Number of Animals cows,sheeps,horses,pigs, and so on

Any tips, hints, or Helpful Stories will help Thank you!!


Also i am doing a lot more research then Online info, In fact my birthday is on Monday and i have asked for Lots of farming books!!

[steff bugielski]

First off the animals should be tested before they get to your farm.
Only buy from a breeder who is willing to show you those results.

[motdaugrnds]

Littlequail, I will speak to goats. I agree with Steff in that it is never wise to buy any goat to bring home to your place without knowing for sure it has been tested (and is negative) for those diseases. (Do not take the seller's word for it. Ask to see the papers even if you know the seller is of good reputation.)

After you get your "healthy" goat home, take a fecal sample to your local vet and have it tested for worms (all kinds that vet can test for). [In fact, if you have the money, I would either take every single goat or have the vet come out and give each goat a good general exam, listening to lungs, etc.]

Also, I have read somewhere that raising goats and sheep together can be problematic. I don't remember where I read this or what the situation is that produces the problems; however, when I read it, I was impressed enough to know I was never going to raise sheep with goats. (Now if they were in separate pens and separate grazing pastures maybe that would make a difference.) I don't want to scare you; just giving a heads up on something you might want to be researching.

[mygoat]

My main problem with raising sheep and goats is that sheep herds are almost never tested for diseases. Most sheep herds are good at just auctioning off any with abscesses/wasting but some aren't and it can be quite common to hear of an abscess popping up or having trouble with well fed animals wasting away (sign of johne's). Of course, the same goes for many goat herds, not just sheep herds - just I don't think I've ever seen a disease tested sheep herd. I have talked to sheep breeders who haven't ever seen an abscess in person, and if I were to buy sheep that's where I'd get them from.

CL can also infect humans - whereas CAE cannot. Sheep can get the same type of CL as well as Johne's too. They also have a disease similar to CAE called OPP. Unfortunately the blood test for CL for either species is not super accurate. I believe it is still a worthwhile tool, however. Just understand that there are false positives and negatives and ANY purchases should always be kept in isolation for about 3 months to make sure they are HEALTHY before you introduce them to the rest of the herd. Also, buy from reputable herds. Isolation keeps many diseases, even cureable ones, from spreading. I buy from tested herds or test before I buy, and then isolate for 3 months, then retest again for CL, CAE, and Johne's. Johne's test is only accurate for animals over 2 years or so the experts at Johne's.org say, BUT I have talked to someone who disease tested a pygmy buckling before buying him (blood test) and found that he was positive for Johne's at 6 months. The herd owners that she was going to buy from tested the dam, to find out she was also positive. I test everything for Johne's starting at 6 months. It is initially cheaper to do a pooled PCR fecal test for Johne's - samples are mixed into groups of 5 animals per pooled sample, and tested. If anything comes back positive, individual samples are retested. It's highly accurate.

Johne's, CAE and possible CL (if an abscess bursts within the udder) can be transmitted in milk. Johne's is NOT killed by simple pasteurization. If I ever have to supplement kid diets with storebought cow's milk, I always can it on the stovetop before using. It kills all the beneficial bacteria and dentures it somewhat, but I'd rather that, than spread disease - though it is fairly unlikely to get Johne's from cow's milk, I still think that's how people get Chrone's.

And yes, no matter the breeder you get them from, ASK FOR DISEASE TEST RESULTS. I bought a doe from a big name show breeder once, she ended up having CAE. Learned my lesson, though I'm lucky it wasn't anything worse than CAE, which is easy enough to eliminate from a herd.

[mygoat]

Oh, forgot to say :

Nutrition wise, the main difference between sheep and goats is that levels of copper that goats REQUIRE, will kill sheep. Never give sheep goat specific minerals/feeds (though most are goat or sheep feeds, those are safe but too low in copper for goats!)

If I were to raise sheep/goats together, I would offer SHEEP minerals/feed, but copper bolus the goats 2-3x per year. I do that anways, as the copper rods are so far the only verifiable way I've found to get good amounts of copper into a goat, even using goat feeds/minerals. Has to do with how often they eat it and how copper rods work.

[littlequail]

So far i have Found out about CAE, Johnes Disease and CL. However is there One test i can do to find out about all 3. or Must the Animal under go 3 Test samples?

[coso]

Not just one test, but you can pull blood once, and use one red top tube, and send it to a lab like WSU for them to run test on all three of those. http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/fees.aspx