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The conclusion to my 3 part series on discussing the "big 3". I'm sure I'll make more threads for other things as they come to mind but these are the big ones that every book says to test for.
Johnes Info Center:
http://www.johnes.org/goats/faqs.html
Johnes is a horrible horrible disease and IMO the most dreaded of the 3 we've discussed so far. Johnes is an incurable bacterial infection that lives in the small intestine, thickening the intestinal wall. This prevents the absorption of nutrients....
Here's some high points:
-Can infect any ruminant
-Pygmies seem to be particularly susceptible
-It's spread by feces. Feces to Oral.
-Kids are most susceptible and like the others. Kids can even become infected in utero or from colostrum.
-A goat can be without symptoms and be a carrier
-Goats usually don't present symptoms until they're in later stages
-It is incurable
Common symptoms:
- weight loss (where you can't explain it or get them to gain)
- loss of appetite
- depression
-diarrhea.
Goats with Johnes have a weakened immune system so they may get sick often and likely carry a heavier worm load that it's impossible to get rid of.
From TN Meat Goats:
:The timeline roughly runs from birth to age one, no signs whatsoever; from age two to four, goats may begin to show signs of some weight loss but have no decrease in appetite until the disease becomes full-blown; and goats over age four who are heavily-loaded with the bacteria begin to look wasted. The mid-stage, from approximately age two to four, is the really dangerous time, because those goats look reasonably well but are shedding the bacteria like crazy."
Getting your herd tested?
-Yes, you should test. You don't want this on your property. One might be able to make a justification for living with CL or CAE but Johnes is just downright devastating.
- Blood testing - No test is 100% accurate
AGID - Rarely has false pos. but that may be because its not a super sensitive test.
ELISA - Is a very sensitive and fairly accurate but if your goat has CL then it will come up with more false positives.
FECAL - False positives are rare - But in light shedders it might not come up as positive when they are. If your goat is already showing symptoms then this test is probably the most accurate.
Ok. More experienced goat people....
I think this one is almost surely cut and dry. This one disease because it effects all the ruminants seems to have all the studies. And there doesn't seem to be any info on "how to live with it" because there isn't any good prognosis when your goat has this. There is no living with it. Right?
Anything else?
And just like the other threads, you guys are amazing for keeping everything nice and civil and super helpful.
Johnes Info Center:
http://www.johnes.org/goats/faqs.html
Johnes is a horrible horrible disease and IMO the most dreaded of the 3 we've discussed so far. Johnes is an incurable bacterial infection that lives in the small intestine, thickening the intestinal wall. This prevents the absorption of nutrients....
Here's some high points:
-Can infect any ruminant
-Pygmies seem to be particularly susceptible
-It's spread by feces. Feces to Oral.
-Kids are most susceptible and like the others. Kids can even become infected in utero or from colostrum.
-A goat can be without symptoms and be a carrier
-Goats usually don't present symptoms until they're in later stages
-It is incurable
Common symptoms:
- weight loss (where you can't explain it or get them to gain)
- loss of appetite
- depression
-diarrhea.
Goats with Johnes have a weakened immune system so they may get sick often and likely carry a heavier worm load that it's impossible to get rid of.
From TN Meat Goats:
:The timeline roughly runs from birth to age one, no signs whatsoever; from age two to four, goats may begin to show signs of some weight loss but have no decrease in appetite until the disease becomes full-blown; and goats over age four who are heavily-loaded with the bacteria begin to look wasted. The mid-stage, from approximately age two to four, is the really dangerous time, because those goats look reasonably well but are shedding the bacteria like crazy."
Getting your herd tested?
-Yes, you should test. You don't want this on your property. One might be able to make a justification for living with CL or CAE but Johnes is just downright devastating.
- Blood testing - No test is 100% accurate
AGID - Rarely has false pos. but that may be because its not a super sensitive test.
ELISA - Is a very sensitive and fairly accurate but if your goat has CL then it will come up with more false positives.
FECAL - False positives are rare - But in light shedders it might not come up as positive when they are. If your goat is already showing symptoms then this test is probably the most accurate.
Ok. More experienced goat people....
I think this one is almost surely cut and dry. This one disease because it effects all the ruminants seems to have all the studies. And there doesn't seem to be any info on "how to live with it" because there isn't any good prognosis when your goat has this. There is no living with it. Right?
Anything else?
And just like the other threads, you guys are amazing for keeping everything nice and civil and super helpful.