Calling all goat peeps! Let's talk about CAE...

[Henrietta23]

Ok so if CAE is the arthritis issue is CL the one with the icky oozing cyst???

I think so, yes!
Donki is amazingly happy and has been relatively pain free since seeing the vet. She has some injectible pain meds for a week and hasn't been as bad since. And she gets lots of yummy treats so she feels spoiled! Some goats who test positive never have any symptoms like Free's.

 

[freemotion]

Arthritis is just one of the symptoms.....CAE got its name because arthritis was the first recognized symptom. Calloused knees are common to healthy goats so are not a sign, sometimes callous-free knees are a sign because the goat can't comfortably bend the knees to lie down for cud-chewing and extend the legs. So callous/no callous....both found in healthy goats and in CAE-positive goats.

CL is the cyst thingy.

Just because my doe doesn't have symptoms today, doesn't mean she won't tomorrow, so I will always pull her kids at birth if I can. So far, so good.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Yep, I agree with Free. My doe, June, is CAE positive, and I was pretty darn bummed about it when I first found out. I, too, wanted to dam raise, especially after working in the dairy industry and having to pull calves away from cows. I was really excited to have my goat raise her kids, but it's really not that bad pulling them right away. I don't let her even lick the kids, but I let her lick ME. She bonds to me and calls for me like she would her kids. My doe is asymptomatic, and her dam lived to be 13 and was fine. If June starts getting arthritic and having problems, I'd euthanize her. Her doeling is going to be tested this fall (when I send in blood to preg check everyone) and I feel almost positive she'll be negative. Not quite sure if I'll let her dam raise or not, even if she is negative, simply because the goats all live together and I don't want to take any chances. I may change my mind later though.

We drink the milk, and there has never been any study showing it might be bad for humans to drink. CAE is definitely manageable. If you're just starting out, you may want to consider starting with a clean herd though. It'd be one thing to buy a positive doe if you already have a positive animal or animals, but you may not want to knowingly start out with positive animals. It's totally a personal decision though. I don't regret buying June, though I do wish I'd known to test before buying.

 

[CrimsonRose]

Yeah I had thought about not wanting to bring it here on our farm... but I honestly just want the goats for us... Not many people raise dairy goats so doubt I would be able to sale the babies for much... Everyone has and wants boer goats... Plus I'm not ready to have a buck just yet... so If I find someone to breed her the baby will probably be a cross... So again the babies will probably be raised for meat instead of selling them... So as long as I have milk I think it's worth the deal...

I contacted the lady and agreed to get her but I have my work cut out for me this weekend getting everything together for her...