Caprice_Acres
Chillin' with the herd
You'll loose buyers who want clean herds. Your prices may be lower than an equal counterpart from a tested herd. I honestly tell people that ask if I'm interested in their goats that if their herd isn't tested, they couldn't GIVE me their goats.11langenkamp_w said:
CAE affects milk production and therefore profits in both dairy AND meat herds. It is a retrovirus that is MAINLY spread through milk and colostrum to kids. That's why many dairy herds pull kids at birth and raise on heat treated colostrum and pasteurized milk.
Stress can induce symptoms of these diseases (as with any disease)... you could have losses during kidding season as stressed does break out with abscesses (CL) and need to be culled, or their knees swell after kidding stress because of CAE.
Last I heard if there are two or more CL abscesses on a meat goat carcass, then it is unable to be consumed. You might loose sales on carcasses.
CL is zoonotic, meaning your cows, rabbits, horses and EVEN YOU AND YOUR FAMILY can get it from your goats. CL is a bacterium as previously stated.
CL can live for YEARS on surfaces, soils - waiting to infect.
CL is a chronic disease that causes lowered production and efficiency.
In my opinion, management of ALL diseases is NECESSARY. Especially if I or my family are susceptible to getting it! Mostly you'll hear from meat herds that 'its everywhere' and 'they're unmanageable'... But then you'll find dairy herds that have been clean for MANY years now, since testing became available... Sounds more to me that people don't WANT to manage it because meat herds are terminal. That's just weird animal husbandry ideology, IMO.
I have a tested clean herd for CL, CAE, and Johne's. I've had CAE positives, and thankfully it's a very easy to manage disease and since butchering my positives, I've had no others convert from negative. I've never had a CL or Johne's positive goat on the property, thank goodness. I've never even seen an abscess in person.
As for the issues of 'CL negative" and "Abscess Free" - I claim both. I can prove negative test status, but many people don't CARE about CL test results because they are sometimes considered too inacurate. Therefore, I also say 'abscess free'. False positives and negatives abound... but REGULAR testing of herds is necessary in disease management because of incubation periods - testing should be done at least once per year. Last I talked to WADDL about their BLOOD CL testing, they do further testing on the sample if it initially comes back positive. I can't remember all the details but it essentially helps rule out false positives, as there are MANY environmental harmless bacteria that can cause a false positive on an contaminated blood sample.
Pus samples from suspicious abscesses give MUCH MORE ACCURATE test results.
