FAQ:  Quarantine After Purchase
Maxine Kinne

Q.  I just bought a goat. Should I keep her separate from my herd? For how long? Is she liable to get sick. When might I expect that? 

It is always a good idea to isolate a new goat for a minimum of one month. She is stressed by many new things, including transportation, new food and surroundings, and perhaps even a different climate. Her immune system will probably not be as good as it normally is for a while. A new goat can get sick within a few days or up to a few weeks, and she could pass this to others in close contact.

When newly purchased goats get sick it is usually from a disease organism they already carry, and it just overwhelms the natural defenses and gallops out of control. New animals in the herd can also be very susceptible to new organisms they have never been exposed to before.

If she is is carrying a serious disease, like caseous lymphadenitis (contagious abscesses), CAEV, or Johne's disease, you will probably not see evidence of them for months or years due to their long incubation periods. New pets or breeding stock stock should always come from herds that are tested for these diseases. Negative test results go a long way in providing quality assurance.

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