We have been working for about 3 years to rid our herd of CAE positive animals without losing our genetics. It has been a long and difficult process, but we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. All of our adult does have tested negative at least twice.
I can not stress the importance of testing your herd. You can't eliminate a problem if you don't know you have it. You can not tell by looking at the goat, in fact you would have guessed that my positives were perfectly healthy. And they were. This disease is quite manageable if you know who has it. But without testing you just don't know. Knowledge is power. So we test twice a year.
We pulled blood from our 8 adult does and 2 of the kids (the kids need to be at least 6 months old for accurate results). We use Biotracking as our testing lab. I am praying for 100% negative results....any positives will need to be removed from the herd.
The other box contains our monthly milk test samples. Our 6 milkers are on DHI Test and we use Langston University as our testing lab. By testing we know how much butterfat and protein our does are producing, plus their milk production is a matter of record. This is our first year on milk test, and I plan to continue testing for many years to come. This is our 3rd test and I'm anxiously awaiting the results. I am hoping that some of them will earn their star, although 5 of the 6 are first fresheners....most does don't earn their stars until their 2nd lactation. My primary concern is butterfat rather than total pounds. High butterfat milk tastes better and makes better cheese...which is why I have Nubians. The other breeds of dairy goats produce more milk, but the Nubians produce the most butterfat (second only to Nigerian Dwarfs).
We should have the results from this round of testing in a week or two....and then I'll start some breeding plans!
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