# CAE/CL/Johnes Testing



## toomanychickens (Jun 4, 2016)

I am needing to test my goat(s), which lab is the best, but also the most cost effective? I am in Ga. Also, do you normally test ALL goats, or just a few in the herd to consider the herd negative? Also, what is the typical cost per sample?


----------



## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

I think when our vets took blood samples from our (then) four goats he sent them in to Texas A&M. I don't remember how much it cost (will have to check), but I know that it was reasonably priced. 

To have a herd free of Johnes, CAE and CL you will need to test all of the goats, but the results won't be accurate unless they are at least a year old. Also, testing everyone annually is a good idea.


----------



## Goat_Scout (Mar 23, 2017)

Some goats I bought in January had been tested, and their owner had sent the blood samples in to Sage Ag Labs. I just looked it up and the tests are at a very good price!

http://sageaglab.com/content/goat-johnes-testing


----------



## DonnaBelle66 (Mar 4, 2013)

Pan American Vet Labs is a good lab for testing. However, CL blood tests are not reliable. You can get a false positive as well as a false negative. The only sure way to know if your goat has CL is to have a Vet lance the abcess, send the pus to a lab and that will tell you for sure if you have a goat with CL. It is highly contagious. Also, if you try to lance it yourself and get the pus on you and have a cut on your hand you can contract it. It is rare but it has happened. If the pus is dropped on the ground it will contaminate the soil. If you have a goat with CL it is best to cull.


----------



## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

You cannot possibly consider your herd negative unless all are tested. On the years that I don't test everyone, but only spot check, I would never say to a customer I had a tested negative herd. I would be extremely deceptive should I do that.


----------



## DonnaBelle66 (Mar 4, 2013)

mariarose said:


> You cannot possibly consider your herd negative unless all are tested. On the years that I don't test everyone, but only spot check, I would never say to a customer I had a tested negative herd. I would be extremely deceptive should I do that.


But the blood testing for CL is unreliable. You can get false positives and false negatives. There is no definitive blood test for CL. In meat goats if you send a goat to slaughter and they open it up and the lesions are inside the carcass is discarded.


----------



## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Negative tests don't necessarily mean the goats are truly negative so it's best to say your herd tested negative on whatever date. The CL and Johnes blood tests are pretty unreliable. Many breeders don't bother with them.


----------



## toomanychickens (Jun 4, 2016)

Thankfully Ga has a very low incidence of CL. I think that I would like to test for everything offered for testing, at least once. Do you test for Q Fever or Brucellosis?


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Its expensive for all three tests per goat. I think WSU charges like $20 per head. Might be $25 for a full bio-screen which would include blue tongue. Its true, CL and even Johnnes is hard to test for accurately. 

A goat can have CL, growing a current abscess and still test negative. This is because of the nature of the the abscess. The body walls it off, thus creating the abscess. If the animal has internal abscess the test is about your only way to find out. The best way to determine if you need to do CL testing is knowledge of your herd. How long have you had your animal? Where did you get them originally. How often do they mingle with other goats (shows.) If you have had your goats for say longer then 3 years and they dont interact with other goats and you havent seen an abscess, then its pretty safe to say you are CL clear. Testing would give you a little piece of mind though. 

The Johnnes test is more reliable but it can take some time for it to be detected with a test. Johnnes is a slow acting disease. Need somewhere around / after a year old to test. Johnnes is mainly a dairy cow / dairy disease. Most often it is gotten through the purchase of dairy calves from a sales barn or craiglist ad by a locale dairy. A few years ago I did some research and it was estimated that 80% of all registered dairies (registered being any grade A dairy legally able to sell milk). And of that 80%, there was a 92% infection rate of all animals on those dairies. With Johnnes being transferred through feces, its understandable why the infection rate is so high. Most dairies do not test for it or even care that they have it.

CAE is the easiest to test for. Needing just 6 months of waiting before you can test your goat for the first time. But even with the CAE test, there can be false results. The reason the 6 months time is in effect is because of two main reasons. First, it takes about that amount of time for the teeter levels to raise high to be tested for accurately. Also, if you raise babies on PASTEURIZED positive milk they will come back with a false positive. Weening time is typically 3 months of age and it takes another 3 months for the... I dont know, antibodies or dead virus or teeters to return to normal. The CAE test is very reliable but if your goat is sick and or severely mineral deficient or even a buck at the end of a hard rutt / breeding season, they can test with a false positive. If you think a test is wrong and know the goat that tested was in rough shape, take a sold month to get that animal back into shape and retest.


----------



## PippasCubby (May 13, 2015)

*I am needing to test my goat(s), which lab is the best, but also the most cost effective?* 
We use WADDL. They have a very good reputation and are easy to work with. They have good rates for in-state folks, and slightly higher rates for your of state. ~$17 in-state, and I believe ~$25 for out of state for CAE, CL and Johne's testing

*Also, do you normally test ALL goats, or just a few in the herd to consider the herd negative?*
To really consider yourself a negatively tested herd, you should test everyone of testing age. But, whether or not that is necessary depends on herd size, goals and your reason for testing.
Some examples/reasons below:
-if you have a small herd, it would likely be economical to test everyone.
-if you have a large herd, testing a significant (statistically speaking) portion would give you and idea of the herd status, yet save you a little money.
-if you want to advertise as a negatively tested herd, you should test everyone, no matter the size of the herd.

CL and Johne's testing aren't as definitive as CAE testing. They are best used as screening tests rather than diagnostic tests. For example: If you test your herd and all are negative, there is a high chance that everybody is truly negative...But, if you test and a couple come back positive, it is likely that you do have that disease(s) in your herd (and possibly more prevalent than the positive tests show).



KW Farms said:


> Negative tests don't necessarily mean the goats are truly negative so it's best to say your herd tested negative on whatever date.


And I just want to 'second' this...Kylee hit the nail on the head with this statement


----------



## DonnaBelle66 (Mar 4, 2013)

PippasCubby said:


> *I am needing to test my goat(s), which lab is the best, but also the most cost effective?*
> We use WADDL. They have a very good reputation and are easy to work with. They have good rates for in-state folks, and slightly higher rates for your of state. ~$17 in-state, and I believe ~$25 for out of state for CAE, CL and Johne's testing
> 
> *Also, do you normally test ALL goats, or just a few in the herd to consider the herd negative?*
> ...


Kylee you is keerect.


----------

