NGDs

I am thinking about adding a goat to our farm. I started with one requirement for a pet goat - cuteness.

An angora goat.  Seriously, right?  So cute.

However, it turns out that finding the right goat is easier said than done.  Not surprisingly, there is much more that needs to be considered than how cute the animal is. So far we have visited two farms in our area - one with lots of bigger milk goats (e.g. Saanens, Alpines, Lamanchas) and one with a few smaller goats (Nigerian dwarfs). Neither was the right fit. It turns out that there are lots of Nasty Goat Diseases (NGDs) that you want to avoid when buying a goat. Lots of these can be transmitted to sheep and some even to humans. The four worst NGDs are:

#1 Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA). This is a chronic bacterial disease of sheep and goats caused by the highly infectious bacterium Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. This disease is characterized by abscess development in the lymph nodes and other tissues. Affected animals often have visible lumps in the superficial lymph nodes, particularly in the head and neck region. Abscesses in this area can press on the esophagus preventing normal rumination, leading to weigh loss.

#2 Scabby mouth (contagious ecthyma, orf). This is a highly contagious, viral disease of sheep, goats and occasionally humans. The scabby mouth virus infects an animal through abrasions in the skin. Cool, non-woolled areas such as the mouth, legs, feet, teats and poll are the usual sites of infection. The mouth and feet are most commonly affected. At first small, reddened areas appear and begin to weep a clear fluid. This fluid eventually hardens into a thick brown scab. In the early stages the scab is firmly attached and if forcibly removed, a raw bleeding area is exposed. After two to three weeks the scabs dry up and drop off. The underlying skin then heals rapidly. Spread within the flock is usually rapid. Animals that recover from scabby mouth develop a life long immunity to the disease. A scabby mouth vaccine is readily available and provides good protection from the disease. Humans occasionally become infected with the scabby mouth virus.

#3 Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE). This is a progressive, debilitating, and contagious disease in goats caused by a lentivirus, meaning it is a slow growing virus. This type of virus has a long symptom free incubation period followed by a gradual onset of disease, so goats can be spreading disease within the herd but not showing any outward signs that they are infected. The CAE virus lives within white blood cells that circulate in the blood stream to fight disease. CAE can be spread through contact with milk, saliva, or mucous of infected animals, and via coughing. There are five main presentations of the disease, with arthritis being the most common in Canada. The disease is often painful and severely limits production by preventing goats from accessing feed, leading to weight loss. CAE may also cause mastitis or a drop in milk production. There is no known treatment for CAE.

#4 Johne’s (“YO-knees”) disease. This is a fatal gastrointestinal disease of goats and other ruminants (including sheep) that is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). Also known as paratuberculosis, this infection is contagious. The MAP organism usually spreads from adult goats to kids and occurs when a young animal swallows the organism via water, milk or feed that has been contaminated by manure from infected animals. A goat that appears perfectly healthy can be infected with MAP.  When goats finally do become ill, the symptoms are: rapid weight loss and, in some cases, diarrhea. Despite continuing to eat well, infected goats soon become emaciated and weak.  Johne’s disease can be transmitted from one ruminant species to another - for example from goats to sheep, etc. There is no cure for Johne’s disease, and there is not an approved vaccine for goats.

Ugh.  Yuck.  Given that our flock of sheep is perfectly healthy (the biggest problem we have is Alice's bare bottom), I absolutely do not want to bring any of these diseases onto my farm.

Given all this new information, my criteria for a goat are now as follows:

1) Have tested negative for the above NGDs.

2) Female

3) Bred or the ability to be bred

4) Small size

5) Friendly

6) A pretty colour

7) Not too old

8) Not ridiculously expensive

At this point I am researching reputable Nigerian dwarf goat breeders in the area.  

Yes, I know I need to look for more than cute. 
But...awww...still so cute!

I think this might be our best bet but, so far, we are still looking.  If you happen to know of a pregnant, disease-free Nigerian Dwarf goat for sale that meets the above criteria, please let us know!