Scrapie Tags - Simple Mystery

Does every goat in Virginia need a Scrapie tag?

Legally, no.  But if you look at Virginia Administrative Code 2VAC5-206-20, Identification of Sheep and Goats in Commerce, you'll discover legalese that is anything but clear. 

The Virginia code lists eight categories of sheep and goats that must be identified with Scrapie tags, and it lists seven categories of sheep and goats that are not required to be tagged.  There are four exemptions to the must-be-tagged list, and one exemption to the don't-have-to-be-tagged list.  Some criteria for determining if a goat should be tagged are so complex that a producer literally cannot make the determination, and must contact the state for guidance.

As a result, there's often no consensus among producers - especially between veteran producers and new producers - about the exact requirements for tagging goats.

It's important to know that Scrapie is an always-fatal, debilitating disease unique to sheep and goats.  It's similar to Mad Cow, and it costs U.S. producers $20 to $25 million each year.  The disease has severely affected domestic and international trade in sheep and sheep-byproducts, which means it indirectly affects every sheep and goat producer in the U.S.

To learn more about the disease itself, there's a short, informative article in The Bleat, the July newsletter of the Southern Virginia Meat Goat Association (www.svmga.org/newsletters).  For more detailed information, go to www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/scrapie/.

So, why is the code so complex?

Virginia is required to comply with the minimum standards of the USDA's National Scrapie Eradication Program.  In 2007, new Virginia regulations were proposed to meet the USDA's minimum standards.  The result is a primer on what happens when science meets politics. 

The Virginia Joint Commission on Administrative Rules met January 8, 2008 to discuss, among other things, the proposed regulations for Scrapie eradication.  State legislators met with heavy resistance from the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  The meeting summary indicates that Wayne Bolton, Vice-President of VICFA told the commission that Scrapie does not exist in Virginia and that he's opposed to all regulations, not just the ones proposed.

Still, the proposals became law in 2008.  Dr. Thach Winslow, Regional Veterinary Supervisor and Designated State Scrapie Epidemiologist explained that the resultant code is a very scientifically based program that also attempts not to over-regulate. 

"It's very accurate and very fair," Winslow said.  "It's also very hard to follow and understand."

Unlike most livestock diseases, Scrapie takes years to manifest in sheep and goats.  Therefore, the tags are not used primarily to determine who owned the animal last or where it's been in the past week or so.  The most important function of the Scrapie tag is to determine the animal's flock of origin, i.e. where it was born, gave birth or used for breeding.  For all male animals the flock of origin is always the flock of birth. 

Flock of origin is everything in Scrapie eradication.  A goat can be sold 10 times and moved all over the country, but if it tests positive for Scrapie, officials need to know where it originally came from.  Therefore, the Scrapie tag should always reflect the flock of origin.

Dr. Winslow said that if evaluated properly, well over 90 percent of sheep and goats taken to livestock markets legally require tagging.  And since it's too much trouble to evaluate each animal to determine which ones need tags, most Virginia livestock markets require all sheep and goats to be tagged.  Many buyers and destination states also demand tagging.

What do you do if you bought breeding stock that isn't tagged?

"Technically, because they are being sold as breeding stock, they are required to be tagged before they are sold," Winslow said.  "The purist would say that that animal should not be purchased."

Likewise, if an animal you've purchased with a tag somehow loses that tag, you should contact the original flock owner to get another tag.  But Winslow acknowledges that strict interpretation of regulations can backfire and result in less compliance.  He suggests a more practical solution: In the event an animal in your flock needs a tag for any reason, the flock owner should put one of their tags on the animal and record all the information, including where and when it was originally purchased as well as the date tagged and why.

"If these records are kept, then in the event of a trace, the flock owner will be contacted and that information can be provided to continue the search," Winslow said.  "We get what we need in a very practical way."

Winslow is quick to reiterate that no breeding stock should be purchased without Scrapie tags, and offers this solution only for producers who have mistakenly bought untagged breeding stock.  He also points out that livestock markets, licensed dealers and veterinarians have the authority to issue Scrapie tags for animals that come to them untagged.  These issuers are required to determine the flock of origin and keep records of that information for five years.

Animals purchased with a Scrapie tag should not be re-tagged.

"Animals are only permitted to have one Scrapie tag and it's illegal to remove it," Winslow said.

Scrapie is not a mythical bugaboo.  It exists and it's dangerous.  The USDA National Scrapie Eradication Program Fiscal Year 2009 Report indicates that Virginia did discover a Scrapie infected flock in the 2009 fiscal year.  The report also states that the flock was "released," meaning all infected animals were destroyed and the flock is being monitored, yet appears Scrapie-free.

Winslow confirmed the USDA report and points out that the infected animals came to Virginia and did not originate in Virginia. 

"To my knowledge we don't [currently] have any animals alive in Virginia with Scrapie," Winslow said.  "Without the Scrapie program there would be animals born in Virginia with Scrapie."

Officials charged with eradicating Scrapie would prefer a simple, "tag all sheep and goats" law.  The tags are free to any producer and they take only seconds to apply.  Records must be kept for five years, but such information is easily entered and kept on a personal computer.  There's no reason not to participate.  Besides, it's the law.

So, what's the simple answer to the complex question?  Tag all goats at the flock of origin.  You birth it, you tag it.  Simple.  Mystery solved.

Alan Keck

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Weak Kid Syndrome

Weak Kid Syndrome may describe a son who claims he doesn't have the energy to mow the lawn on Saturday morning, but to goat producers it's a serious and perplexing problem that affects our livelihood.

As relatively new goat producers, my wife and I had heard of both weak and floppy kids, but we'd never had one until this spring.

One of our first-time mothers went into labor in early June, and we knew there was a problem as soon as the kid's head appeared.  Normally, when the head of a healthy kid appears you can see mouth movement and often the tongue is sticking out.  This kid was completely docile.  Labor was uneventful, and the new mother assumed her role with vigor, yet the kid lay immobile and made no attempt to get up or find a teat. 

My wife knew right away it was Weak Kid Syndrome, but despite all the reading and preparation we'd done, we weren't sure how to handle this.  We tried bringing the kid's mouth up to the mother's teat, but the kid had no inclination to suck and hung limp in our hands.  The mother was doing her best to cooperate, but it was obvious that without intervention, the kid would fail to nurse and die.

We'd read where some goat producers gave small doses of strong coffee or whiskey to weak kids, rubbed small amounts of Kayro syrup or molasses in the kid's mouth or inserted stomach tubes to facilitate the feeding of colostrum or solutions containing dextrose.  My wife and I are former paramedics and she's a practicing emergency room nurse, so we are quite comfortable with any necessary procedures.  Yet, we chose to take a more natural approach and my wife ran into the house to Google for information on Weak Kid Syndrome.

I stayed outside and got the mother to lie down, then gently brought the flaccid kid next to her.  I extended the kid's neck and put its nose against the mother's teat, hoping the kid would begin to suck.  It seemed totally disinterested, so I opened its mouth and squeezed some milk, into the baby's mouth.  Eventually, the baby began to suck, and much to my relief, it nursed for about 30 seconds.

My wife returned with tons of information about what to do, but we both felt that our best course of action was to simply assist the kid in nursing.  We sat on the ground next to mother and child for about an hour, taking turns holding the baby to a teat.  Little by little the baby got stronger and finally stood up and nursed without help.  Eventually, mother and baby were moved into one of our birthing stalls where they spent the night.  It's all been smooth sailing since.

What we learned about Weak Kid Syndrome is somewhat overwhelming.  I will make no attempt to give veterinary advice on how to handle weak kids, but I want to share some things we learned and what we're going to do differently.

I have a copy of Diseases of the Goat by John Matthews, a distinguished British Vet with over 30 years of experience working with goats.  This is essentially a text book and often hard to follow, but it's very thorough, and devotes 12 pages just to weak kids.  Unless otherwise indicated, the clinical information in this article comes from Diseases of the Goat.

There are dozens of causes of weak kids, and they fall into several general categories: Prematurity, birth injury, congenital defects, post-natal malnutrition, post-natal infections, exposure, intrauterine malnutrition and Floppy Kid Syndrome (which is a sub-set of Weak Kid Syndrome).

We had initially ruled out prematurity because the kid looked appropriately sized and weighed eight pounds.  We've since learned that single kids can weigh between six and 15 pounds, so there is a possibility that the kid was slightly premature.  Still, it did not appear to be.

We also ruled out exposure since it was very warm and dry.  It's possible for the kid to have a fever, but it seemed unlikely at the time.  There was also no evidence of trauma, labor was not prolonged or difficult, and there were no obvious physical defects, like cleft palate.

Since the kid was born weak, post-natal malnutrition and post-natal infections were not considered.  Floppy Kid Syndrome (metabolic acidosis without dehydration) occurs in kids who are normal at birth, but become weak at 3-10 days.  So, that was not considered either.

All that was left was intrauterine malnutrition, the causes of which are numerous.  Our goats browse many acres of wild cut-over land, eating all sorts of vines, weeds and saplings.  This particular doe is approximately 15 months old, large for her pedigree (half boer, half Nubian) and in excellent health.  Using the current FAMACHA standards, she's never needed worming.

Yet, it's apparent there was some deficiency in nutrition causing her kid to be born without the necessary energy reserves to stand and nurse.  We've arrived at this conclusion because once the baby got colostrum in its stomach, it perked up and acted normally.

There's no way to tell exactly what the mother was missing in her diet, but Diseases of the Goat suggests trace element deficiencies as one possible cause.  Specifically, copper, iodine or selenium deficiencies can cause weak kids.

I know the soil in Southside Virginia is selenium deficient because we have to give selenium-rich feed to our horses.  I never realized it was equally important to goats.  In fact, I never really thought about copper and iodine either.  Since our goats get high-quality, natural browse and occasional doses of a generic feed, I thought they would get adequate nutrition. 

I went looking for a good feed we could give the pregnant and nursing mothers, but found it to be more difficult than expected.  When you start looking at pelleted feed for goats, you have to consider much more than trace elements.  Nursing goats and newborns need moderately high protein, fiber and vitamins, and the bucks need a calcium-to-phosphorous ratio around 2:1.

I looked at nine available feeds and was dismayed to discover than none had all the trace elements I wanted.  I also learned that any feed suitable for sheep will be devoid of copper, since it's toxic to sheep.  What I settled on is a feed that has everything except iodine, which I now supplement by way of a special trace mineral block containing iodine.

I won't make any feed recommendations, but I've included a feed comparison chart I created which lists feed formulas available in my area.  Click here to view/download the chart.

Last year, we acquired several does which were already bred, and one delivered during a warm, September night.  We found the fully-developed, apparently full-term kid dead the next morning.  Could this have been a weak kid?  Possible, and quite probable.

Daily feed for pregnant, nursing or newborn goats is now standard procedure on our farm.  It's a small price to pay for (hopefully) fewer weak kids.   I'll report our findings.

As for the weak kid born June 10th - he's gained 18 pounds in 30 days and is almost as large as twins born three months ago.  He just needed some help getting started.

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