No CAE testing - What should I do?

[lupinfarm]

I'm looking at getting a Boer/Nubian doeling or two and I've got a source who breeds for the open market, they have approx. 200 goats onsite and usually have kids to sell. They're obviously not a "breeder" they're more of a farm operation that sells off the kids they don't need.

ANYWAY most commercial size herds here don't test for CAE (most herds don't test for it PERIOD actually, I must be the only person who had a heart attack and called the vet in to test lol). Obviously at $140.00 for 2 goats, testing 200 would put most people in the poor house.

I really want a couple does from this lady, and they're always priced to sell since goats are actually pretty difficult to get rid of out here, not that anyone really breeds them anyway. They're just not that popular.

I got lucky with my two Pygmy girls, both negative, and this lady does keep a closed herd and obviously I'd go look at them and she has said they've had no "outbreaks" of CAE at all. Should I go for it? Its not like we have a bustling goat market here, and since all you can ever get is registered usually, most purebred doelings tend to cost a small fortune, good bloodlines or not (we're talking $400-$600 for a nubian doeling).

Sigh!

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I have another questions sort of in that vein: Does anyone have a good online reference showing how to draw blood? I'm getting a lot more comfortable with giving injections and I'd really rather do that sort of thing myself but have NO prior experience.

 

[lupinfarm]

I think CM posted one when I was asking about it a while ago...

He'll chime in eventually LOL.

We're not "allowed" to draw blood and send it in ourselves here and BioTracking doesn't service Canada. Hence why it's so expensive for owners, and why most goats go untested. Unless of course they're owned by me, and I'm insane and more than willing to spend more than $100 to get my TWO goats tested, yes... $140 for TWO goats.

 

[cmjust0]

I think CM posted one when I was asking about it a while ago...

He'll chime in eventually LOL.

Wasn't me. I think it might have been ksal, but I'm not sure.

I've never drawn blood before. Well, I mean, I've drawn plenty of blood -- mine and theirs alike, probably in nearly equal volume -- in the process of trimming hooves and whatnot, but I've never actually drawn blood on purpose.

It's something I will do, eventually...but I'm weird about it yet.

A buddy of mine...a guy with 20+ years experience in goats...has never disbudded a goat for the same reason that I've never drawn blood -- he's too chicken.

He'll jab one in the neck to draw blood or inject something IV without thinking twice, but disbudding? Forget it. He won't do it.

Everybody has their own little bugaboos, I guess.

We're not "allowed" to draw blood and send it in ourselves here and BioTracking doesn't service Canada. Hence why it's so expensive for owners, and why most goats go untested. Unless of course they're owned by me, and I'm insane and more than willing to spend more than $100 to get my TWO goats tested, yes... $140 for TWO goats.

Well..how about this..

You know your two girls are negative, so why not have them bred, freeze a bunch of some colostrum and milk, and then go catch a few Boer babies while they're still wet. Bottlefeed the babies from the clean colostrum and milk, and poof -- you know they're negative by virtue of the money you've already spent to have your two girls tested.

 

[ksalvagno]

No, wasn't me. I don't draw my own blood. One of those things I just don't have the guts to do yet. While I know the bleeding always eventually stops, I just don't want it to stop when there is no blood left.

I do all my own shots and everything, just won't draw blood. Too scary for me to deal the with the jugular vein.

I know on selfsufficient.com there is a thread on drawing blood on goats by Freemotion. She even put out a utube video on it.

Lupin, I don't know what to tell you other than go with your gut. Sometimes we just have to take those chances and sometimes we know better not to.

 

[lupinfarm]

LOL you make it sound so easy Cm Almost no one bottlefeeds! There was someone advertising 2 pygmy babies online for free I can only assume to bottlefeed, but they haven't gotten back to me so I guess they must be gone!

They're Boer/Nubian x doelings, I might just take the risk and get a doeling from this lady. I'll get her tested almost as soon as she gets home, and we'll go from there. I took a chance on Cissy and Mione and they turned up negative. I'm more than willing to wait to breed Cissy and Mione until next year because I'll have bought a buck of my own by then (everyone pretty much keeps a closed herd and no one likes to...offer... up their bucks).

 

[lupinfarm]

No, wasn't me. I don't draw my own blood. One of those things I just don't have the guts to do yet. While I know the bleeding always eventually stops, I just don't want it to stop when there is no blood left.

I do all my own shots and everything, just won't draw blood. Too scary for me to deal the with the jugular vein.

I know on selfsufficient.com there is a thread on drawing blood on goats by Freemotion. She even put out a utube video on it.

Lupin, I don't know what to tell you other than go with your gut. Sometimes we just have to take those chances and sometimes we know better not to.

Yeah I think it might have been Free lol. I can't remember for the life of me. But I know someone posted something about drawing blood, a link to a website where a young girl did it.

We had the opposite issue, we couldn't get Mione TO bleed. The vet eventually got it, but we had to hold her up in the air lol. Cissy bled everytime she Baaa lol so hers went real fast since she's quite talkative.

 

[cmjust0]

No, wasn't me. I don't draw my own blood. One of those things I just don't have the guts to do yet. While I know the bleeding always eventually stops, I just don't want it to stop when there is no blood left.

I do all my own shots and everything, just won't draw blood. Too scary for me to deal the with the jugular vein.

I know on selfsufficient.com there is a thread on drawing blood on goats by Freemotion. She even put out a utube video on it.

Lupin, I don't know what to tell you other than go with your gut. Sometimes we just have to take those chances and sometimes we know better not to.

Yeah I think it might have been Free lol. I can't remember for the life of me. But I know someone posted something about drawing blood, a link to a website where a young girl did it.

We had the opposite issue, we couldn't get Mione TO bleed. The vet eventually got it, but we had to hold her up in the air lol. Cissy bled everytime she Baaa lol so hers went real fast since she's quite talkative.

I've seen the site with the kid drawing blood before..

Here it is.

 

[lupinfarm]

There we are! Thats the one I was talkin' bout. It looks pretty straightforward, but I felt so bad for my girlies I don't think I could ever do it myself lol.

Now they look silly because they still have a short patch of hair where the vet shaved away their enormous woolly mammoth coats for taking blood.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

It is very easy to draw blood, and I think every goat owner should practice and know how to do it! The Biotracking site also has a link to a how-to with an 11 yr old girl drawing blood.

I have a blog post about it, but I didn't get too in depth because my photographer was my 6 yr old stepson.

Lupin- Really stinks that Biotracking doesn't service Canada. It's $4 plus shipping to get them to test it. Can you draw yourself and take it to the vet to save money?

ETA the link Biotracking has is the same one CM posted.