Housing an untested goat

gabbyraja · #1 04/27/13, 05:43 PM

I am picking up a goat tomorrow that has not been tested. I need to keep her separate and test her, obviously, before integrating her with my herd. How far apart does she need to be? Would an adjoining pen work, knowing I'll be testing her this week and will probably have the results in a week? She's a just-weaned doeling, and I'm afraid to keep her ALL by herself too far from the other goats for too long, but...

Minelson · #2 04/27/13, 06:01 PM

No..an adjoining fence will not work. She needs to be in a seperate area with no contact via saliva, poop, anything. no contact no matter how small it may seem. Please test for Johne's disease which only requires a stool sample.

Shayanna · #3 04/27/13, 08:11 PM

i dont have an answer to your question exactly, but if you test through waddl you can do the caprine biosecurity screen which does cae, cl, and johnne's all with one vial.

**mygoat** · #4 04/27/13, 10:04 PM

No adjoining fences.

30' away, for at least 30 days is SOP for most farms.

Do her chores last, don't handle her unless necessary etc, during the iso time. Use housing and equipment that is either disposable or easy to sanitize.

I just got a new goat (No, haven't posted about it yet, got her home at dusk and no pictures) and she'll be in iso. Tested before I bought her, she'll be in iso at least 30 days - but my protocol is 3 months, she'll then be retested, then introduced to main herd.

They don't go crazy that quick.

She'll probably be fine in iso until test results come back on her.

gabbyraja · #5 05/06/13, 06:30 AM

I think you guys might have been wrong. She cried literally non stop her entire first 2 days here. I was too busy with births to give her any attention at all. Now she only goes a little insane any time the other goats make noise, go within her sight in their enclosure, or we people walk outside ANYWHERE. So, yeah, seems like they can go crazy that quickly, smh. Hoping she tests negative very soon so we can just get her in with the other goats, because if our neighbors didn't hate us before, they certainly do now. Smh again.

Ken in Maine · #6 05/06/13, 06:35 AM

Poor girl... she'll be terribly lonely. This is a good case for having purchased two goats together so they would have companionship. Keeping a goat in solitary especially for a week or more can result in future health problems and of course the goat will have a difficult time assimilating into the herd. Not a really good way to bring a new goat into your life!

mahnah · #7 05/06/13, 11:57 AM

do you have a wether you can put in with her?

gabbyraja · #8 05/07/13, 08:00 AM

She was a trade for a buck I wanted rid of last fall. I don't have a whether, no. That would make me have to get rid of my whether if she turned out to have something, though, too, right? Whethers aren't immune...

**mygoat** · #9 05/07/13, 09:31 AM

Well yes, you'd have to get rid of a wether. but wethers are monitarily worthless. Low in value and a lot of people use them for this reason. Unless they're a special pet, that is.

gabbyraja · #10 05/07/13, 10:45 AM

Dona, how dare you! All of our goatees are treasured! Especially the pita bottle baby that screams and fights every time you try to feed her for the past 3weeks, and yells especially loud down the hallway waking up my sleeping little kids. Grrr.

thaiblue12 · #11 05/07/13, 11:12 AM

If she is under 6 months old testing is useless. Why don't you have the mom tested if the owners will let you?

Was she dam raised? Or raised on CAE prevention?

I think keeping a herd animal alone for 30-90 days is cruel. Get a wether or another doeling. If she has CAE the wether won't catch that from her if she has anything else then they would both need to be put down but the rest of your herd won't.

She is taken from her farm, her mom, her herdmates and stuck in a pen alone of course she is going to be scared and freaking out. I bet you can pick up a wether pretty cheap close to her age from a tested dairy that pulls at birth so you don't have to worry he is carrying anything.