Off to the goat and sheep auction.

[cmjust0]

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That's an OK book for someone just starting out, but there's a lot of...misinformation in there. Like, when you read in there about biosecurity and how important it is to keep your herd totally segregated and closed, and then read about how you can just line up a stud buck and drive your doe over to be bred.

To those of you who don't own goats...if that sounds totally contradictory, IT IS.

I couldn't tell you the number of posts you'll see online where people are like "I've got does, but nobody will breed them for me!" The advice is always the same..."buy a buck." Then when they get a buck, someone comes along and says "Can I use your buck to breed these does I got?" The answer is always the same..."No! We run a closed herd." Round and round she goes..

Now...if you really wanna scare the crap out of yourself, go pick up the 4th edition of "The Goatkeeper's Veterinary Book" by a goat vet named Peter Dunn. Just flip through it...the pictures alone will be enough to put most people off the idea of EVER owning a goat.

 

[cmjust0]

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With all due respect, I'd like to see some references on your figures -- specifically when it comes to CL in dairy goat herds. The notion that CL exits in 80% of dairy goat herds in the US is something I find absolutely preposterous, to be frank. I'd be shocked if it were even as high as 20%. I'm thinking it's probably <5%, realistically.

Commercial meat goat herds at 80%?...maybe...I dunno. Don't frankly care, as I avoid adding commercial meat goats to my own herd for that very reason.

But to suggest that CL isn't a big deal because it's widespread is just irresponsible, IMHO. You do realize that CL is zoonotic, right? I mean, people can get CL lesions on their skin from CL+ goats...is that really something you want handle everyday to milk, let alone actually drink the milk?!?

And FWIW, not all CL knots are external so a simple once over for knots doesn't quite cut it. A goat with no suspicious lumps outside may still be eat up with internal CL lesions on their organs. A blood test or buying stock from a reputable CL-free herd is the only way to know for sure.