HOW do I get my goats tested?!

[rehric00]

I am getting two goats... I am told they are cae neg, but they were last tested in 2012.

What I want to know, is how do I test my animals??

I would like to test for CAE, CL and Brucella.

I have looked online, and I have found companies, but I would like to know from people who have done it, which company I should choose. My vet does not test for these, I've asked him.

 

[cassie]

The only things I personally would bother to test for are CAE and Johnes. You can have the vet draw the blood and you can send it off yourself. Cornell tests and so does WSU (Washington State University) and I think UC Davis in California. There are others but that is what comes to mind. If there are no abscesses in the herd where your goats came from it is extremely unlikely that CL would be an issue and the only cases of brucellosis in goats I have ever heard of were found in some brush goats near the Mexican border, and that was several years ago.

 

[Stacykins]

Agreed, CAE and Johne's are the two that are best to test for. If an abscess pops up in your herd, you'd test the pus directly for CL.

Your vet sounds like he won't send the tests off for those diseases (and that may be a good thing, some vets charge you an arm and a leg to send off a test that doesn't actually cost an arm and a leg). But he can draw the blood, and you can send it to a number of places. The website to WSU's Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) is here. Cornell's Animal Health Diagnostic Center is here. I've sent off samples to Waupun Veterinary Services, mostly because they are incredibly close to me.

Shipping blood samples is actually quite easy, and you don't need special equipment/postage. Double bagging samples and making sure to label them properly are two important things to note.