This is a photo of my latest love.

Goodness Gracious Gracie.

Gracie 1 day old.

CAE is a terribly sad degenerative disease goats can contract. CAE stands for Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis. There are alot of articles on it. Its a retro virus. It can cause enchephalitis in small kids. It can make a goats life miserable.

Click here for some articles.

And the consensus is stay away from it. As a breeder, one tries to do their best to not keep this disease propagating in your herd. Or purchase goats with it.  The disease is either acute or chronic. Acute can hit the kids and they can die a terrible death. As well, the chronic hits the older goats and they too can go, terribly. Though some can live out their lives just being carriers. Just having bouts of arthritis. And have a somewhat normal life. Till the end. But then that too can be devastating.

The problem lies in passing this dreaded disease on to offspring. And this is where there is a divergence of opinions on how to manage it. Saliva? Mucus? milk? Air? Soil? Does it transfer passively in utero? Can a goat sneeze and pass it? Can it lay in the soil? and you bring it home? Can you commingle Positives with negatives? and so on. Best bet is just stay away from it. Problem is how to you fight an invisible destroyer?

Many breeders pastuerize their milk before giving it to the kids. Hoping this is enough to keep the kids clean in case the herd might not be. This means they are or might not be a CAE negative herd. What they say though is they actively manage their herds for a CAE negative prevention program. This is good. Not great. But still a good step in knowing your breeder. You can go this route. Purchasing from a herd on CAE management.

OR

What you want to know and see proof of is testing. Is your goat CAE negative. Has it been tested? Repeatedly over the years. Obviously, if you have a closed herd and your goats never leave the property, no more goats come on, then testing once a year for 3 years is really all that *i think* is needed. But, this is rarely the case. Goats come and go, people show, they commingle goats and so on… So really, for assurances goats should be tested YEARLY. no small feat. Or cost to large producers with 50+ head. Smaller breeders? no excuse, test your goats. The cost is incorporated into my feed bill yearly. And its just the right thing to do.

In all things in life there are ethical and those not so ethical. And though you ask about it and are they CAE negative, you really just don’t know. I’ve tested every year since owning my goats. I’ve purchased from those that are CAE negatively tested herds. Luckily, and happily we are all negative.

If i ever sell you a goat, ask me for the proof. Really! As you should with all goats you purchase.

 

This was the consensus of all who i called.

Firstly, they are mean. They are alot like the turkeys and can kick and hurt you. Needless they are also 4 times the size. You need to cover their heads. Grab their body’s and maneuver them as you stand behind them. Those knees bend backwards and if you are in front of them? eeek. lol…

OH WELL! i did try to save the darn thing. But he just wasn’t interested in following me or the food trail.

He was running up and down our side road all day. The kids on bicycles weren’t helping the situation either. I hope he is ok. And got back to his farm.

Funky looking creature isn’t he?

Wednesday (don’t tell my clients), I went out on YET another goat walk. CA came to visit from Arcadia, and to pick up her newest little girl Eureka, and well, we took a walk. What is so unusual was that I let them ALL come. Noble, Roman, Delilah, Oreo, Latte, Eureka, Zenyatta, Syrah, and Gracie. Gracie is only 11 days old. And she smoked them all. She was so darn cute and funny. We don’t go far. Just across the street. Or up the road a bit. Its always fun to bring new friends on a goat walk.

The whole herd went for a walk!

They only need the certificate of registration and the tattoo sequence clearly marked on the paper and matches the tattoo in the ear. So the ADGA, or AGS, Or comparable goat registry papers, coupled with the tattoo is all that is needed.

If a goat is coming into the State of Florida it needs to also have the OCVI veterinary inspection papers. Testing of Brucellosis and Tuberculosis and thats it. As well, these papers are necessary for shows. If a goat is just moving within the state, to show, then you don’t even need the Brucellosis tests or TB tests any longer. As we are a Brucellosis FREE state.

All owners need to get a Scrapie ID number, This can be done over the phone, or now leaving a message, to return your call, and or going to the website and requesting it… And you do not need tags. Sometimes the state employees don’t even realize this. Nor do many of the vets. Couple it with owners that are new to goats and the poor things get tagged in error.

And please don’t confuse this with the NAIS premise id number. As the confusion lies in the fact that the state calls them by the same name. The confusion is probably to the states favor with new owners not realizing which is which. NAIS is something you want to stay away from voluntarily. Just trust me on this. And because you ask for a “premise ID number” rather than state specifically for a SCRAPIE PREMISE ID NUMBER you just might get sucked into the NAIS without your knowledge.

At the moment its still illegal to enter your name in one and have it automatically roll over into the other. Unless you voluntarily want to sign up for both. KNOW your rights and the state law.

Mandatory National Scrapie eradication program
National Animal Identification system…

One is required by law the NAIS is not… not state law (Florida) or Federal law..

Click here for more information on Goats.

NAIS is the governments way to try and control the food supply. Using trackback as a main reason for its implementation but, there is no way to truly trackback. Its being fought by every small farm across America. And for more education on this please go to

NO NAIS

I found this photo online HERE to help you figure out how to remove these nasty things from their ears. I’ve never tried it but figure if you have them in their ears this is how to remove them.
When purchasing your goats outside the state of Florida, and bringing them in, don’t let them fool you into thinking this is mandatory. Ear tags are only mandatory for MEAT animals and animals going to slaughter.

Official ruling below taken from here:
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=5C-3

http://www.animalagriculture.org/
General site for Scrapie and johnes information

http://www.eradicatescrapie.org/
yes. Scrapie is an evil and debilitating disease. Florida has not seen a case in over 12 years. Nor found in goats, primarily a sheep producers disease.

http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai/main/rules.shtml
Florida state agriculture website, rules and codes.

Below is the letter sent out to Florida Farmers by Bronson.

10/7/2008

BRONSON ANNOUNCES NEW RULE REGULATING IDENTIFICATION AND MOVEMENT OF SHEEP AND GOATS

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced the upcoming implementation of a new rule regulating the identification and intrastate movement of sheep and goats. The rule, effective October 10, is designed to prevent the spread of scrapie, a fatal, degenerative disease of the nervous system in these animals.

The rule requires that all sheep and goats moved intrastate for any reason, or when there is a change of ownership, must be identified by their flock/herd of birth, or if that information is unknown, by the flock/herd from which they originated. Only identification methods approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can be used. These include official USDA ear tags, identification tattoos, or implanted electronic microchips.

The new rule is being done in conjunction with the USDA’s Scrapie Eradication Program, which provides standards for state and federal governments and the industry to monitor, control and eradicate the disease from domestic flocks and herds in the United States. The USDA regulates interstate movement of sheep and goats but the state rule was necessary to ensure the same standards are followed for animals moved within the state’s borders.

“It is imperative that the federal government and all the states work together on this eradication program,” Bronson said. “In today’s marketplace, animals are often moved to many locations. It’s important to be able to quickly determine where they are from if they are diagnosed with scrapie.”

Information about the flock or herd of origin is necessary because an infected animal may not show clinical symptoms for up to five years, making it more difficult to diagnose and trace back to the original herd to look for a source or other infected animals.

The department’s Division of Animal Industry is launching an education effort to get word of the new rule out to producers, dealers, auction markets, petting zoos, 4-H clubs, and any other entities that deal with goats and sheep.

For more information about Administrative Code Rule 5C-29, the scrapie rule, contact the Department’s Division of Animal Industry at (850) 410-0900 or visit http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai.

Wow! is this how the other half lives? If so, I don’t want to have anything to do with it. What a poor example of a man. Wife. And life choices. Elitism to nth degree. And its sad to say, i’m sure he’s not the only one that thinks like this.

This is a perfect example of narcissism. And mental abuse . The losers in all this will be the children.