Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Goat Whisperer]

@Latestarter I would get the numbers on the other two does as well. If they are high I'd be very concerned. We always get the numbers on ours, thankfully we've never had a doe pop a BL or POS test but after seeing several others go through CAE unexpectedly we try to very cautious.

ETA- what test was this? AGID or cElisa?
If she were my doe, I'd re-run the tests and do both the AGID and cElisa. And get the exact numbers back, don't just settle for a BL, +, or -

 

[Mini Horses]

SBC -- you mention both types -- do you consider Elisa "better"?

I have a (ADGA?) VA Lab about 20 miles from me and they will do the testing with samples dropped. $6 ea for CAE & Johnes. They list Elisa. Just wondering.

 

[Bruce]

All the pastures need mowed, including the front one that I just did last Saturday

Once a week is pretty standard up here, actually for some of the faster growing areas, too long! Mowing need is less frequent if we hit a long dry spell.

 

[Latestarter]

My neighbor keeps telling me that a lot of "retired" folks move to this area because there's a summer "dry" period where they don't need to mow. Well, I first came down here last Aug/September and it needed mowing and we're now into July and I need to mow... I'm wondering when and for how long this supposed "dry" period lasts... Had almost 2 hours of thunder and rain yesterday afternoon that started about 20 minutes after I was going to start mowing. I saw & heard it coming so didn't even bother starting the mower. We got just under 1.5 inches. 40% chance of more this afternoon and there's a (relatively stationary w/very slow south movement) 120 mile long line of T-storms right NW of me over the Red River. I expect they'll get here just about the time the pasture is dry enough for me to start mowing

GW, I believe the test was the Elisa... I doesn't actually say on the test paper but I believe that's what I saw on the order form. When I send off the next test I'll request both be run (if that option is available). The man at the test lab said the numbers were not available from the tests, just one of the three classifications. The % listed on the test results is 0-150%-N, 151-1990%-BL, and 2001%+-Positive. Maybe I'll see if there's some other lab around that I can use.

Just checked and I can drive to the TX A&M university Vet Lab https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/ in College Station Tx in about 4 hours. They accept sample drop offs. Maybe I'll collect samples and have the vet here do the draw, pack everything in ice & water and drive there. They can do both tests and the cost is reasonable. I don't mind the drive. They take drop offs. I think I'll bring fecal samples and have them do EPG's as well. I'll give them a call tomorrow for further details.

 

[Southern by choice]

SBC -- you mention both types -- do you consider Elisa "better"?

I have a (ADGA?) VA Lab about 20 miles from me and they will do the testing with samples dropped. $6 ea for CAE & Johnes. They list Elisa. Just wondering.

I'll defer to @Goat Whisperer as she mentioned it.
I know our lab will do AGID if the ELISA is positive.

@Latestarter I would get the numbers on the other two does as well. If they are high I'd be very concerned. We always get the numbers on ours, thankfully we've never had a doe pop a BL or POS test but after seeing several others go through CAE unexpectedly we try to very cautious.

ETA- what test was this? AGID or cElisa?
If she were my doe, I'd re-run the tests and do both the AGID and cElisa. And get the exact numbers back, don't just settle for a BL, +, or -

 

[Bruce]

The % listed on the test results is 0-150%-N, 151-1990%-BL, and 2001%+-Positive.

Um, and they said the actual value of BL is unimportant? With a range of over 1800%? When the Negative ENDS at 150% and the Positive STARTS at 2001%? Seems to me the actual value of BL would be VERY important! Is it 160% or 1980%?????

Seems everyone is wet so far this year. Perhaps there is a long dry period in an AVERAGE year. Not every year will be average Hope it drys out enough so you can mow before the grass gets 3' high!

 

[Latestarter]

I must confess those percentages kinda confuse me as well. Not gonna worry about it too much though at the moment. I'll get the retest done down at TX A&M and I'm sure they'll explain it in detail if I ask. Since Bang & Dot are sisters and they were living together with April and all the other goats before I got them, and have been together here since, I'm pretty sure it was a false BL and should have been a negative. As long as they've been together I'd expect the others to be BL or positive as well if it were true.

If it turns out she is in fact BL or worse, positive, then I'll have other issues as her twins are dam raised and that means I'll need to get CB & CM checked when they're over a year old and have to monitor them closely before I can consider breeding CB... Since CM is a wether, no big deal really there. I sure hope this is all an error.

So after the 2pm CC bottle feeding I started mowing. 5 hours later I had between 1/3 and 1/2 the back pasture mowed. Had to stop to do evening goat chores. The grass is so tall/thick it was still quite wet at ground level. There were quite a few clouds around and when the mower wasn't running I thought I heard some distant thunder. Just looked at the radar and there are good sized storms around me in a "U" shape but nothing to the north and nothing threatening me directly. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the back pasture tomorrow. Then I'll move on to the front again.

 

[CntryBoy777]

We had a drop in humidity today and suppose to for tomorrow too. I got field#2 cut today and the road to the pond. I will be busy tomorrow, doing....cause temps and humidity is going up and the "Feels Like" is suppose to be triple digits. I sure hope those results are a false BL for ya and the rain stays away long enough to get caught up.

 

[Mike CHS]

Joe - I'm not sure how much land you have but do you have enough to have someone cut hay for you. We do square bales in numbers enough to get us through winter this year and let the neighbor that cuts it have the rest in large round bales . We only need about 60 bails and he gets the rest and last year we got 4 cuttings. I much prefer that over cutting fresh grass all winter.

 

[Southern by choice]

Yep, just retest and don't worry about it til then!
You don't have to wait a year for the kids. 6 months and they can be tested. I like 8 months myself but they say you can test at 6 months of age.

It is important to test yearly for CAE at least. I think many just don't understand this concept.
As a doe ages those numbers can go up. So when people say "the parents were clean" and "they came from a clean herd" that is great but when was that herd tested?
five years ago ? Once?

You are learning and it is all good.