Cae

[Altair]

I'd like to communicate with those with goat and CAE experience. These blood tests have been bogus recently.

[Patrick]

I don't have any experience with testing, only prevention. As I remember years ago, the tests then were not always reliable, so rather than bother, I'd just err on the side of caution, assume that any new does had it, and heat treat colostrum and pasteurize all milk that was bottle fed to kids.

[Altair]

The tests do seem unreliable. My aunt had supposedly "negative" does and bucks, tested at least twice, and some of the resulting kids tested positive even though she feeds the kids milk replacer once taken from their mothers. Very strange.

[stano40]

I would like to know why you say it's bogus to have a goat cae tested.

I'm somewhat still new to keeping goats and I was thinking of having my herd cae tested.

Is it state wide or national that the test is ineffective.

bob

[Patrick]

You should talk to a small ruminant veterinarian. To say that a test is bogus, based on a lack of understanding of how CAE is transmitted, and how the testing does and does not work, is irresponsible. Technology is improving to make the testing more reliable. It is just a fact of biology that some diseases behave in a way or have characteristics which make them difficult to diagnose with our current technology. A positive test is still helpful, even if obviously not what was hoped for, so in that respect, CAE testing is far from bogus. For years most responsible dairy goat breeders realized the limitations of the testing, understood that a negative test was not always proof of lack of infection, and they planned their management accordingly.

[Patrick]

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/caefaq.aspx

[Altair]

When I made this thread a year ago my bogus bit was about expressing poor conclusions. Not that they didn't work or that tests were a waste of time but very open to interpretation. Patrick's right, much of CAE is cryptic. There are many unknowns and what-ifs. If you don't have a subscription to the Dairy Goat Journal I recommend it - there's usually a lot of talk about it. There was a good article recently.

Definitely talk to as many vets and other experienced goat keepers as you can.