In the Aug/Sept 2001 Dairy Goat Journal vet column there was a question pertaining to Q fever. In the answer the Dr. stated that there have recently been large outbreaks in several states including Minnesota. I am unaware of any outbreaks in our area, SE. Since we quit showing and dropped our MDGA membership I feel out of the loop concerning the rest of the state. Does anyone know, has the Gopher Goat Gossip carried any articles concerning Q fever or has anyone had a recent case? I am interested in Mn responses at this time. If there is a great deal of interest from other states, I'll start a new thread.(Not being exclusive but I am just beginning therapy on my wrist and hand so my time at this keyboard is very limited.)Thank-you for any responses.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle MN. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), August 01, 2001

Answers

I know nothing about what you are asking about, but we are on a small (10acre) farm near LeSueur and we are looking to purchase dairy goats (just a few for personal milk supply). Do you have any ideas on which ones are best and where to buy?

Thanks and blessings

Maylene

-- Maylene (bigredbarn@myexcel.com), August 01, 2001.

Hi Maylynn, Q fever is a flu like illness that you can get from drinking infected raw milk or breathing in dust while cleaning infected barns.(Very simplified answer.)We have owned almost every dairy breed and decided on purebred Saanens back in '82, haven't owned any other breed since. Guess that means we really like them, lots of milk and easy to work with. When looking for a family milker, the individual animal is more important than breed. Find a HEALTHY, no CAE, abscess, Johness, etc.,proven milker to start with. Contact Ramona Birdsall Bmbhch@uslink.net for MN Dairy Goat Assn information, their newsletter has the"Barter Board" for ads plus breeder ads. (The MDGA also sponsors a yearly dairy goat conference that is a great place to learn about goats and related subjects.) If you would like more info, please feel free to email me at the address listed here.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle MN. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), August 01, 2001.

First, sorry for misspelling your name Maylene. Second, to the Mn person who contacted my email, Thank-you I appreciate it. I tried sending you a return but it keeps coming up sender error. Will try later.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle MN. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), August 02, 2001.