[Texaslass]

So, I've been doing some reading on diseases, and I definitely want to test my herd for CAE, CL and Johne's.

I see on WADDL's website that there is more than one way to test for Johne's, and it's 25-35 dollars per animal! I definitely do not have that kind of money to spend right now, but this is very important to me, so at the risk of sounding dumb I wanted to know if there is another/cheaper way to test for it that is still reliable.

I would also like input on the other tests; I read that you should test more than once, say, within a few weeks? Or is that wrong? And then maybe test again (another two, or was it 3? times) in several months, or a year?

It seems like I am going to end up spending a fortune testing all 11 of my goats. :/ I know the CAE and Cl test are cheap, but there's the tubes and syringes to buy, and shipping, and cold packs, and needles.... For me (with virtually no income right now) this is going to be way more than I can afford.

I got a few of my Nigerians quite recently, before I learned the importance of testing, and I don't want to get attached if there's a chance I will have to cull or euthanize any one of them, so I'd like to test as soon as possible to get it over with.

None of our goats have ever been tested for anything that I know of, so it's a total gamble what we'll come up with. :/
Thank you for all your advice and help.

 

[Emzi00]

Um.
Pavlab.com
That's where I plan on sending mine... $15 for CAE, CL, and Johnes. They have the others to if you did want to test for them. They only use one sample for all three... idk if that helps any...

 

[Texaslass]

I've never heard of Pavlab! I had heard WADDL recommended so many times that I didn't even think of looking for another! I'll check it out..

 

[ksalvagno]

I ended up with false CAE positives for older girls (over 7) that had previously been negative when I used Pavlab. It really hurt my sales that year when those tests came back positive even though I had them retested at BioTracking and it came back negative and all previous tests came back negative. Needless to say, I have never used them again.

The problem was that all my goats were on one sheet of paper so to show people who wanted to see, they saw the positive goats on that sheet. Made me look like a CAE positive herd.

So if you use them, retest if anything comes back positive.

 

[Texaslass]

:think: There are just so many variables in this business... it's hard to decide.

 

[goathiker]

Pavlab does not do the same test. They are fairly famous for their inaccurate results.

 

[Emzi00]

That's good to know, Karen

 

[AmyBoogie]

WADDL is most accurate.
CAE and Johnnes probably only need to be done once a year. Or at most 6 months apart. Johnnes probably won't turn up positive until they're 3 or so. I wouldn't do Johnnes more than once per year.

CL it is recommended to do once and then once more in 4-6 weeks. Then every 6-12 months.

 

[enchantedgoats]

i would go with just cl and cae at waddl. i had them do all 3 test before and dont remember it being that much. just looked it up cae and johnes are $6,30 each and cl is $14.90. you may have been looking at the avian form of johnes which is $25.00. you have to pan down to get to the ruminent section. they will do all 3 for 22.05 it is called caprine/ovine biosecurity screen.

 

[Texaslass]

Thank you everyone, very helpful! I will probably go with WADDL then, though I may have to save a while first.

 

[Emzi00]

Sarah, I'm glad you made this thread
This is very good to know

 

[Texaslass]

Me too, it's answered several questions for me; though my original question (I know I worded it badly) was supposed to be which Johne's test is more accurate? As it seems (according to WADDL) that there's at least two methods of testing for it, so which is more accurate?

 

[goathiker]

The very expensive fecal test with PCR is the most accurate. Usually this is used only when the blood tests come back positive. They actually grow a culture for the PCR and it can about 2 months to get your results back.

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

Johne's testing is $4-6 at Waddl, where did you see $35?

 

[enchantedgoats]

they will bill you. so if you are truly concerned you can have it done and make payments. and i think the biosecurityis sufficient, unlrss something comes back positive.

 

[eqstrnathlete]

I just tested 5 goats for CAE and CL. My bill total was $88. Through WADDL

 

[Texaslass]

Johne's testing is $4-6 at Waddl, where did you see $35?

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/dx/johnes.aspx

Under the paragraph that talks about how expensive the test is.