Sales and testing policy

RONAN COUNTRY FIBERS
SALES & TESTING POLICY

When we sell goats, we provide:

If you are looking for something you don't

see on our sale page, contact us.

We usually can provide just the animal you need even if it isn’t shown for sale. If we do not have what you want, we can refer you to another reputable breeder.

A sale is not confirmed until a 25% non-refundable deposit is received. Discounts may be provided for multiple animals

Written information on setting up your goat area and help in transitioning your animals to their new home.
Written maintenance schedule.
24/7 service to help when you have a problem. Call us; we will guide you through the problem and let you know when it is appropriate to contact a vet.
Marketing information for animals and their fiber.
Written information on kidding.
When you purchase 3 or more does from us, we will include an unrelated buck free of charge. (Selected bucks only.)

When we sell sheep, we provide:

24/7 service to help when you have a problem. Call us; we will guide you through the problem and let you know when it is appropriate to contact a vet.
When you purchase 3 or more ewes from us, we will include an unrelated ram free of charge. The ram will be equal to the Gotland percentage of the ewes. Discounts provided for upgrading the ram to a higher percentage.
Priority is given in the purchase of Gotland semen for customers purchasing ewes from us.

Our Policy on Testing:

We used to think that testing was for the paranoid and the rich.
Then we had both a CL and a Johne's wake-up call.

CL - CASEOUS LYMPHADENITIS
Three does purchased a few years ago tested positive for CL during random testing. The titers were low indicating exposure but did not indicate active disease at that time. We kept the does isolated and retested in 6 months. We continued to isolate the does and tested again in another 6 months. No increase in titers was found on the 2nd and 3rd tests. At that point, our vet and OSU veterinary lab assured us there was no active disease; just antibodies to exposure. We seldom purchase new animals but when we do, we will only purchase from herds that test for CL regularly and can provide current CL test results. Or, we will have the animal tested prior to purchase.

JOHNE's - (For additional information, see http://www.johnesdisease.org/)
In 2005 we had an ill doe that we feared had Johne's. The internet information was terrifying and the vets knew little about the disease or the bacteria causing it. We did extensive research waiting for the test results. We lost the doe but the results showed she was suffering from a bone infection probably from an old healed wound. Thankfully, she was negative for Johne's.
In 2009, a sheep suffered from chronic scours. I again feared Johne's and had her put down at OSU vet hospital and necropsied. At that time, the standard test was a fecal test that took 12 weeks for results. I did not want to risk the herd health so choose the faster necropsy results. The ewe was negative for Johne's and negative for parasites. The vet hospital speculated that she had an allergy to something and likely would have responded to steroids. Ultimately her daughter and granddaughter developed the same allergy so they were culled from the flock.
In the Spring of 2011, a fellow Angora goat breeder had a doe die of poor condition a few weeks after kidding. The necropcy results were that the doe had Johne's.
As a precaution, we tested all the adult goats and sheep. Two of my best show goats tested positive. We were devastated. Although both does were perfectly healthy, we choose to put them down to remove the potential of developing the disease in our herd. Thankfully, neither of the does had kids or we would have put them down as well. The current test recommended is the ELISA serum test. It is a reasonably priced and provides fast results.
Our current policy is to continue testing every 3-4 months and immediately cull any positive results if new cases are discovered. Our intent is to test frequently so we can more likely catch any new cases and remove them from the herd before they begin shedding the disease. Once we got 6+ months without positive results we will then continue to test at least annually.
All animals currently on the premises have either tested negative or are under 16 month old before testing is effective.
Like CL, we will not purchase animals from a breeder unless they do regular testing and can produce negative test results for the animal. Or, we will have the animal tested prior to purchase.

OPP - All sheep have been tested for OPP and are OPP negative. We do not intent to
add new animals other than via Artificial Insemination. If we do for any reason, we will have them tested for OPP before we make a purchase so we can continue to run an OPP free sheep flock.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS - Johne's and CL testing should be performed annually. These diseases can be picked up via shearing, casual exposure at shows or, in the case of Johne's, from an animal coming in contact with infected fecal matter (oral contamination).
We have not had a CAE case. We will do CAE testing for the first time in December, 2011 when we update our Johne's tests. This will allow us to complete the latest round of testing before spring kidding. CAE exposure is primarily through infected milk or birthing fluids so casual contact is not likely.

We will gladly have our animals tested for any additional diseases as a condition of sale at the buyer's cost. Should an animal test positive for any disease, the cost of testing and deposit is fully refundable.
Some of our animals (goats and sheep) have been tested for TB, Brucillosis, Blue Tongue, CL, CAE and Johne's as a condition of sale and all have tested negative.

Most current Johne's test - July, 2011. 100% negative for all adults and yearlings born 2010.