Info on annual testing!
2021 bloodwork for all goats over 1 year of age on our farm is complete and results are in. This is our third year testing for CAE, Johnes and CL. Previously we only tested for CAE and Johnes. We continue to get all negatives for all ruminants on our farm. Results will be up on our website soon. For those interested in how we went about testing for all 3 and the cost:
$30 US per goat for a farm herd health test through WADDL which includes CL, Johnes and CAE
$120 CA to ship overnight through UPS
$520CA for 9 adult goats total cost.
The other option I have chosen in the past was to take the bloodwork to the lab in Abbotsford to test for CAE and Johnes, and then have the extra blood shipped by them to UC Davis for CL since Canada does not have any facilities that test for CL. This second option is a bit more expensive.
We choose to test for CL now as well, annually, because CL is common in goats across Canada and we can show by annual testing, not just by observation of lack of lumps, that we have never had any signs of it in our herd. Early detection through bloodwork can help prevent the spread of it if it is caught before lumps even occur. Routine annual testing demonstrates that it has never been detected in our herd which offers biosecurity peace of mind.
As you can see it isn't cheap to do routine yearly testing of your herd. And CL probably doubles the cost because the bloodwork needs to be shipped to the US. But year after year, it is invaluable for peace of mind for both the breeder and the customer. ... See more
