How to Send a Goat Blood Sample to a Lab
In this post, I will cover step-by-step how to send a goat blood sample to a lab. We send our blood samples to Sage Ag Laboratory. They are prompt, easy to work with, and have reasonable prices for testing. By sending your own blood samples you avoid vet costs for routine bloodwork.
Why do I need to do blood tests on my goats?
It's important to know the health of your herd so that you can slow or stop the spread of diseases among animals. By doing a lab panel on your goats at least once a year, you can know if your herd is carrying any of the main biosecurity diseases. Many of these diseases are zoonotic meaning humans can contract them. So you can learn if you need to take certain precautions while handling your animals.
This post is not sponsored.
This post may contain affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you make a purchase through my link which is of no cost to you. Thank you for your support!
I am not a veterinarian, this is only an example of what we do with our animals. Please consult your vet before making any health decisions with your animals.
How often should I test my goats?
I like to test after bringing any new animals onto our farm. If no new animals come, then I like to test once a year after our goats have been exposed to a buck. This way we can do a pregnancy test and their yearly biosecurity panel all in one blood draw.
Depending on your biosecurity practices (Do you take your animals to show? Do you have an outside buck coming on your property? Etc.) you may want to check every 6 months. Our animals never leave our farm, and only our family enters their living quarters with our barn-specific shoes, so I feel comfortable testing only once a year.
What does a Lab Panel tell me about the health of my goats?
A lab panel will tell you a positive or negative for:
Pregnancy: 30 days post insemination or exposure to a buck.
Johne's: (Pronounced Yo-nees) Johne’s disease is a chronic, debilitating enteritis of ruminants caused by infection with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis.
CAE (Caprine, Arthritis, Encephalitis): is a persistent lentivirus infection of goats. The CAE virus infects its hosts for life but most infected animals are subclinical and thus never develop symptoms. However, a minority of infected animals will develop progressive, untreatable symptoms including polyarthritis and mastitis in adults and encephalitis in kids.
CL (Caseus Lymphindinitis): is a bacterial disease of sheep and goats caused by Corynebacterium psuedotuberculosis. C. psuedotuberculosis can survive in the environment for several months and is highly infectious. It often presents itself as abscesses filled with thick creamy pus. When the abscess ruptures, the puss is extremely contagious. In rare instances, it can infect humans.
Q Fever: is a disease caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii. This bacteria naturally infects goats, sheep, and cattle. The infection is usually subclinical, but can cause abortions, still births, or birth of weak offspring. It is also a zoonosis, a disease of animals that can infect humans.
The importance of a tested herd
Not only does testing your herd give you peace of mind for your own animals, but if you plan to sell any of your goats you can be confident that you are selling healthy animals and charge accordingly.
We only buy goats that are from a clean tested herd, and I ask to see the lab results as proof. I don't mind paying a little more for an animal if I know it's healthy and not going to get my other animals sick, nor our family.
Finding a lab to test your goats
We use Sage Laboratory to test our goats. They are a state-of-the-art facility, very easy to work with and their testing prices are very reasonable. (This post is not sponsored)
You can also call your county extension and see if there's a lab in your area where you can drop off samples. While the lab tests are very reasonable, shipping was around $60 because of the express shipping requirement. We found the price to be around the same whether we purchased our own box, or used the post office express box.
Should I test all my goats?
It's always more accurate to test all your animals. You may have an infected animal that hasn't passed the disease on to the rest of your herd. We have 8 goats at the moment and I test all of them. If you have a small herd like us. I would recommend testing all of your animals.
How to send in a goat blood sample
If you haven't already, check out my post How to Draw Blood From a Goat.
You will need a blood sample of at least 3ml to send to Sage Laboratory. This will be enough blood to test for the above diseases and to test for pregnancy. If you're new to drawing blood, I encourage you to learn. It is very easy and once you do it I promise it won't feel intimidating after a few times. My post above takes you step-by-step through the process.
If you don't feel comfortable, you can have a vet come out and draw blood. But that can get expensive depending on where you live and how many animals you have.
Filling out the Sage Laboratory form for goat testing
Go to Sage Laboratory Home Page
In the upper menu row, click the Animal Testing drop-down list. Choose "Goats"
When you reach the "Goat Testing" page scroll down until you see "Goat Submission Form".
Download this form and print it.
In the top left, fill out your personal information.
In the top left it shows the price breaks down the price of each individual test. You do not have to get the complete biosecurity panel if you choose to test for only certain diseases or a neg/pos pregnancy.
Below that on the form is a line for each goat in your herd. 1 goat per line. Make sure your Animal ID matches what you have on your blood sample vial.
There is a second page for additional goats.
Materials needed to ship a goat blood sample
You will need:
- The Sage Laboratory Lab form
- The labeled viles with at least 3ml blood. If you haven't already, check out my post How to Draw Blood From a Goat.
- A biohazard label. Download and print here: Biohazard Label
- rubber band
- gelatin ice pack not frozen water
- several zip lock bags The gallon size ones worked well.
- marker
- paper towel
- absorbent packing material like crumpled newspaper or paper towel
- express mailbox from the local post office or a small shipping box
- Sage Laboratory mailing address:
Sage Ag Labs
9625 Sweet Ola Hwy.
Sweet, ID 83670
You can also visit the Sage Ag Labs store to purchase vials and shipping materials
Instructions for packaging your goat blood samples
The following is taken from Sage Laboratories Shipping Instructions Page. Please read all the instructions below or visit their website.
Shipping Guidelines
To send samples, you have the option to use the United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, or United Parcel Service (UPS). Below are specific instructions for each shipping method:
For Pregnancy Samples:
- These samples are not sensitive to temperature or time.
- No special precautions are needed during shipping.
For Biosecurity Samples:
- Use ice packs to keep the samples cold during transit.
- Ship the samples overnight through FedEx or UPS if not insulated.
- If shipped in a Styrofoam cooler or insulated bag, 2-3 day shipping is sufficient.
- Avoid using dry ice or frozen water for cooling.
Packaging Instructions for Samples:
1: Bundle 2-10 tubes together with a rubber band.
2. Wrap the bundle with paper towels to absorb any fluid in case of tube breakage.
3. Place the samples inside a leak-proof ziplock bag.
For biosecurity testing samples, include an ice pack in the ziplock bag.
If shipping for pregnancy testing, ice packs are not required.
4. Pack the ziplock bags with bubble wrap or absorbent material in a cardboard box.
Never ship samples in plain or padded envelopes.
Sample Submission Form and Payment:
5. Enclose a completed sample submission form and payment with the samples. Alternatively, you can prepay for testing using our online store and include proof of purchase with the submission form.
Place the form and payment inside a leak-proof ziplock bag to protect them from water damage due to blood or ice packs.
USPS Shipping:
- Inside the box, include a Biohazard symbol or write "Biohazard" on the plastic bag or a note-sized paper with a sharpie. Avoid putting "Biohazard" on the outside of the box.
- Write "Exempt Animal Specimen" on the exterior of the box.
- For further inquiries, consult your local post office or visit the USPS website.
- Priority mail is not recommended due to frequent delays. Use Priority Mail Express instead.
- Saturday delivery is acceptable.
- Do not require a signature for delivery.
FedEx Shipping:
- Write "Exempt Animal Specimen" on the outside of the box.
- For any questions, consult your local FedEx store or visit the FedEx website.
- Saturday delivery is not available at our location.
- Do not require a signature for delivery.
UPS Shipping:
- Write "Exempt Animal Specimen" on the outside of the box.
- For any questions, consult your local UPS store or visit the UPS website.
- Saturday delivery is not available at our location.
- Early Express delivery is not available in our area.
- Do not require a signature for delivery.
Shipping Address: Sage Ag Labs 9625 Sweet Ola Hwy Sweet, ID 83670
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