Bittersweet Goat Update
I want to get the bad news out of the way first. Rebel died. I'm still very upset and I don't really want to talk about it so let's move on. Yankee, Pearl and Jade are loving their new home and their new owners love them. We got the test results back on the blood work and Coral, Topaz and Jasper were clean. Garnet came back positive for CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis). It is a virus that affects goats, but can't be passed to humans. Goats spread it to others through their milk, colostrum or blood. It can't be passed through feces, breeding, food or water. The problem is that they pass it to their babies and although most goats are asymptomatic, it can be crippling if symptoms do show up. If you're interested you can read more here (LINK) . Most people manage it by taking the babies away from their mom as soon as they are born, but I really don't like doing that. We are going to retest her with a different lab since f...