Herd Heath Test Results

I take the health status of my animal seriously. I do not believe that CAE, CL, or Johnes are anything to take lightly. I raise my goats first and foremost to provide food for myself and my family, and an unhealthy animal cannot produce healthy food. I have been, and continue to be, careful to create and maintain a disease-free herd. I feel very strongly about this, and therefore I provide copies of my disease testing for viewing, both for education and for future buyers.

I test all reproductive herd members for CAE every year when pregnancy tests are sent off. I did miss the 2016-2017 season due to personal family concerns, but am renewing testing now for the 2018 kidding season.

I do not always test for Johnes or CL on a yearly basis because of the unreliable nature of the tests. The most accurate way to test for CL is to test the exude from an abscess, which is obviously not possible if there are no abscesses present, and the most accurate test for Johnes is a fecal test of a shedding (usually symptomatic) goat. We have never had a goat with Johnes nor have we had any abscesses. I only buy animals from clean, tested herds and quarantine all new intakes for a minimum of thirty days. That said, I do still perform blood tests for CL and Johnes, usually about once every other year. I test all new incoming stock for CL, CAE, and Johnes. For more about these diseases and why it is important to test for them, visit this page.

Below are copies of our tests results, starting with 2013. I tested earlier than 2013, but I’ve since lost the papers, so 2013 is the earliest year I have copies of the results for.

Only animals over 6 months of age are tested due to a lack of accuracy in tests in animals under that age. I do not test for TB or Brucella, as Tennessee is a state accredited to be free of those diseases per the USDA, but will happily pull any test for a buyer as a contingency to sale (at buyer’s expense).