Goat Testing Lab Options?

[babsbag]

Generally because state labs are taxpayer funded. Our Lab for NC is Rollins. They charge (and this is the increase this year) $1.65 for instate Out of State is double... that is still only $3.30

I wish. UC Davis is $7.50 CAE; $6.10 for Johnes; $7.30 for CL, and that is in State pricing. Even 7.50 times 60 goats is over my budget.

 

[Southern by choice]

We had a member on here some time ago... she shared her experience with CAE.

https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/dont-tell-me-that-cae-is-no-big-deal.24625/#post-326055

IMO it is foolish to not test for this annually as titers do change and yes some goats may end up with out symptoms but many will have symptoms.

Owning a dairy I would think would be even more reason. With so much associated as far as mastitis as well as the link to other health issues why would you risk it? No it isn't zoonotic but high SCC can cause you to have to dump milk from your tank and there goes that days milk -far too expensive IMO not to test.

With CL & Johnes both are zoonotic. Johnes is not killed by pasteurization.

At the end of the day people choose what they choose to spend their money on.

Disease is costly. Very costly.

Here in NC with our fees so low for in State @ $1.65Each for CAE & Johnes... if someone says they can't afford to test their goats I just SMH. Seriously.

 

[MargaretClare]

I have used UC Davis and Sage Ag labs for testing. I also don't test any of my old goats for CAE; I only test ones that have not been tested by me or by the seller. But then I don't buy a lot of goats and my goats never leave the farm. I have about 60 goats and the vast majority of them can be traced back to three I have owned for 10 years. The others have come from herds that I know test and have been testing for years as well, all negative. Here is some interesting reading if anyone is interested in learning more about CAE.

http://www.cornerstonefarm.net/gtcareof.html#caeq&a

As far as using UC Davis for out of State people I think that it is a lot more money. I am going to try this lab next time I need one tested.

http://ubrl.universalbiopharma.org/how-to-send-to-lab/livestock-diagnostics-schedule-pricing.html

They also do pregnancy testing on goats from milk and also Johne's from milk. Very interesting lab and their prices are good.

UBRL is the one I think I'm gonna go with this time around. As far as I know, my state has no in-state testing for this kind of stuff so I'm at a bit of a disadvantage. If I get a positive I will definitely follow up with further tests at another facility.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

Here in NC with our fees so low for in State @ $1.65Each for CAE & Johnes... if someone says they can't afford to test their goats I just SMH. Seriously.

I wish I lived in NC! Do you know if they test out of state for Johnes and what the fees are? Even with shipping, it might save money to ship mine there...

 

[babsbag]

I have tested my first goats owned and all goats that have come onto my property for CL and Johnes. Moonpie tested positive for CL the first time I tested her. Titers were 32:1. A few years later I tested her again and she was still positive but her titers went down. In the 10 years that I owned her she never had an abscess, no lumps, no bumps, and no cough. None of my other goats have tested positive, including her sisters or her kids.

I don't test for CAE because my oldest does and all does I have bought came from herds that have never tested positive in over 20 years. I think that that is long enough. I tested Moonpie and her sister, RC,again last year as they both had/have horrible feet and liked/like to walk on their knees, they both tested negative. If I do send in blood for a pregnancy test to Sage Ag Labs I have them do the bio-security panel so some random testing is done. If negative today is not negative tomorrow they could convert the day after I test so do I test every week?

As far as dumping milk I don't get tested daily, once a month. My milk does not get dumped due to high SCC, I get warned, and I get 4 chances to correct the problem and then if I still don't pass I lose my Grade A until it is corrected but I can continue to make cheese. Of course I don't want that to happen but it isn't as critical for me as it is for a dairy that is selling milk to producers. Also, I was failing due to high bacteria count in the bulk tank but passing the SCC test so figure that out.

 

[Southern by choice]

I wish I lived in NC! Do you know if they test out of state for Johnes and what the fees are? Even with shipping, it might save money to ship mine there...

Out of state is dble what in state is.
So
CAE- IS-1.65 OOS- 3.30
Johnes IS- 1.65 OOS 3.30

Like with most labs there is an accession fee for new clients I think it is $10.

What gets me is when people say tested for blah blah blah and tested once yet advertise as if though they are testing.
This year I searched for a mini buck to bring in. Couldn't find what I wanted that actually tested for all 3.
I am just breeding 2 more lines. No way am I risking it.

 

[babsbag]

The herds that I have bought from have been tested for CAE and CL and I did the Johnes. The thing is I know these breeders, they are personal friends...makes it easier to trust them.

 

[Southern by choice]

It isn't a matter of trust it is a matter of titers going up which happens as does age. That is why people test annually.
A one time test really isn't giving you much information.

If a doe test positive and it is a true positive then precautions can be taken.

Friends of mine asked for all 3 test, their vet said CL was useless and did not submit for it. Despite the client asking for it. The vet is a good vet BTW just has a different view of testing.
If the test had been positive they could have taken the goat back to the breeder. The goat had just been purchased and was in quarantine.
Results came back and that is when they realized the CL was not ordered. They were not happy about it but decided they would wait til spring and do the buck at the same time as the rest of the herd. 30 days passed. They put him with another buck (his pen mate/buddy) That buck was tested consecutively for years and was Negative. Severe cold snap came in goats huddled together and lo and behold as she was giving them feed and petting them my friend felt something wet. With thick long hair the lump was not visible. It had developed and burst. Immediately the buck was removed. The pus tested and blood sent out. POSITIVE.
It takes approx 3 months from exposure to be detected. The buddy buck, because of the close quarters was now infected, and right around the time they were going to do a sample he developed a lump. Just like that she lost 2 bucks. Burned everything, including the land. Turned it into a no goat area.

1 diseased animal cost her 2 bucks. They were not cheap either. Where a $7-14 test could have prevented all of it and the goat returned to the breeder. The breeder "never had a lump" but also never tested for CL.

This happens all the time. Look at all the people on here who have gone through.

Every lab says the same thing, never rely on one test and testing should be whole herd. If people don't want to fine. But I will preach buying from tested herds because I have seen way to much heartache let alone financial loss. We got lucky with our first goats because we knew nothing about the testing. There are a lot of people who know they have crap in their herd and still sell goats to trusting people and those unaware of the risk.

I know at least when I sell a goat that I, as a breeder have done all I could.

 

[babsbag]

I am talking CAE, I do test for CL and I trust the tests but I know that those titers can change too because I have seen it, and it was UC Davis that did those tests.

But if my doe is 10 years old and she still test negative for CAE (inhibition was 8% and 30% or less is negative) and her dam tested negative and her dam's dam tested negative why am I testing her kids? I have no other source of exposure.
This is from that link I posted above. It is from a Vet that is studying CAE at a university in WA.

What is the usual incubation time from exposure to testing positive? Why do some goats turn immediately and some go for months or more?
Usual incubation period is 3 - 4 weeks (95% of infected goats). Some goats (5%) are delayed sero-converters (several months) for reasons we are not sure of yet.

So based on that I think I am good to go at 10 years.

 

[MargaretClare]

It isn't a matter of trust it is a matter of titers going up which happens as does age. That is why people test annually.
A one time test really isn't giving you much information.

If a doe test positive and it is a true positive then precautions can be taken.

Friends of mine asked for all 3 test, their vet said CL was useless and did not submit for it. Despite the client asking for it. The vet is a good vet BTW just has a different view of testing.
If the test had been positive they could have taken the goat back to the breeder. The goat had just been purchased and was in quarantine.
Results came back and that is when they realized the CL was not ordered. They were not happy about it but decided they would wait til spring and do the buck at the same time as the rest of the herd. 30 days passed. They put him with another buck (his pen mate/buddy) That buck was tested consecutively for years and was Negative. Severe cold snap came in goats huddled together and lo and behold as she was giving them feed and petting them my friend felt something wet. With thick long hair the lump was not visible. It had developed and burst. Immediately the buck was removed. The pus tested and blood sent out. POSITIVE.
It takes approx 3 months from exposure to be detected. The buddy buck, because of the close quarters was now infected, and right around the time they were going to do a sample he developed a lump. Just like that she lost 2 bucks. Burned everything, including the land. Turned it into a no goat area.

1 diseased animal cost her 2 bucks. They were not cheap either. Where a $7-14 test could have prevented all of it and the goat returned to the breeder. The breeder "never had a lump" but also never tested for CL.

This happens all the time. Look at all the people on here who have gone through.

Every lab says the same thing, never rely on one test and testing should be whole herd. If people don't want to fine. But I will preach buying from tested herds because I have seen way to much heartache let alone financial loss. We got lucky with our first goats because we knew nothing about the testing. There are a lot of people who know they have crap in their herd and still sell goats to trusting people and those unaware of the risk.

I know at least when I sell a goat that I, as a breeder have done all I could.

My original question was about different lab options but I just want to say that as a relatively new goat owner this discussion is very informative and it's reiterating why I wanted to begin testing in the first place.

I didn't know about testing and these three diseases when I got my first few goats and I consider myself lucky that my first round of testing came back all negative last year. Hopefully my luck continues, but I'm not so attached to them that I wouldn't just eat them and start anew if I had to.

When I first found out that testing for CAE, CL, and Johnes was something responsible goat owners should do I hit Google and did some basic research on them. I'll admit that, while all the diseases sounded very serious, I was by far most scared of Johnes and I did a lot more reading on that disease than I did the other two. Perhaps because CAE was presented as mostly a dairy breed disease in what I read of it and I have meat mixes, I wasn't as concerned about it and I'm glad that this post is allowing me to consider CAE and CL more closely.