Any one know where 2018 Rendy is?

[Nanno]

One NAPgA membership covers your whole household! Also, the Rendezvous is not a "members only" event. You could come even if you weren't a member at all. However, we do strongly encourage everyone who attends to be a member. The Rendezvous costs money to host and we don't charge a fee to attend, so if a lot of non-members show up it puts a burden on the organization.

[Mike]

This may be a silly line of question that I could have answered my self, but I do not know where to look so....
1- To bring our goats to Rendy do we neeed certification papers from a vet saying they are desease free, and if so does a WA vets test count in ID?

2-Is hay a issue, does it need to be certified invasive weed free, or anything like that?

3- I am a member of the NAPgA, where do you sign up for the Rendy, and if any of the above information is listed on the NAPgA web sight where is it?

Thanks for the time guess, sorry to ask so many question.

[Nanno]

These aren't silly questions at all!

1 - If you bring your goats from out of state, then yes you need a health certificate. This is state law, not just Rendy rules. Once the Rendy gets closer, instructions on how to obtain a health certificate will be posted to www.napga.org with a link here on the forums.

2 - I'm not sure about certified weed-free hay. Some Rendys require it and others don't depending on the location. I can't remember if our location in Island Park required it, but in all likelihood it did. Often the host will bring extra certified weed-free hay to sell at the Rendy to those who aren't able to buy it elsewhere.

3 - There is no sign-up for the Rendy. You just show up and register when you get there. Most of this info gets posted to www.napga.org about 3 months before the Rendy, with links also posted here and sometimes on Facebook.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

[Mike]

Thanks Nanno for the info.

I got kind of annoyed with myself after I posted those question because I felt like I was being lazy.  So I took a couple of hours and started calling around in ID asking for information on rules about bringing goats across state lines and about hay. I ended up learning a lot and getting a whole list of great contact name with phone numbers.  I figured I would share them with everyone incase other new people wanted to be able to get information for them selves.  The first place I called was Idaho fish and game, not the right guys.  They where nice and directed me to the ID dept of Agriculture (208-332-8500).  I called them and was directed to two places one being the ID sheep and goat board (208-334-3115) and the other beingthe ID Agriculture Hay guy, Dan Saford( 208-332-8592).  The Sheep and goat board people where very nice.  I asked them what the rules or requirement where for bringing goats into ID from WA.  There where only 3-
1- Certification of health from a veternarian completed with in 30 days of the trip with a SCRAPIE number
2- SCRAPIE ID number either on a tag in the ear or tatooed in the ears
3-Idaho state entry number for each goat.
These 3 things must stay with the goat at all time while in ID.

I asked if a Washington vet could do the health certificate, Idaho said yes.

The SCRAPIE number, what is it?   To the best of my understanding Scrapie is a disease spread by sheep that is pritty nasty.  So to track if a out break happens there is a national sheep and goat registry call the SCRAPIE ID.  Getting one of these is pritty easy and free.  Mili Chopic (360-239-5360) in Olympia works for the USDA and handles the WA SCRAPIE ID system.  All you have to do is call her and give her your basic info and ddress as well as number of goats.  She will ask if you are going to do ear tags or tatoos.  I chose tatoos and I have 3 goats.  For me she is going to send me a Washington heard ID number and then I decide what to label each goat in my heard.  Then I will take them to the vet and get the WA heard number tatooed in one ear and there individual code number tatooed in the other ear.  Once that is complete I will then finish the SCRAPIE form with completed heard and individual numbers and send it back to Olympia. Them my SCRAPIE registration complete.  That tatooed SCRAPIE number will be the number the vet uses on the health certificate.  After those two things are complete you call the ID sheep and goat board back and request a state entry number.  I do not know if it is given to you verbally over the phone, mailed, emailed to you.  I also do not know if you have to provide proof of the health cert and SCRAPIE ID via email, mail,of fax to the sheep and goat board prior to them issuing you your entry number.

So at this point you should be legal to enter ID with your goats.  Next on the list is hay.  As I mentioned above I was directed to Dan Saford, whose title I do not know, he deals with hay and the spread of noxious weeds.  My question for him was what kind of hay restrictions are there for the area where the Rendy will be.  He did not know exactly because I did not know exactly where the Rendy is going to be located in the Island Park, ID area.  He did say that any hay brought into the area would probably have to be certified noxiuos weed free.  He said the simples way around that is to buy hay pellets (packer pellets).  These pellets are exempt from the weed restrictions because of the fact that when the pellet is being made it reaches 140 degrees which kills the weed seeds.  Regular hay bailes and hay cubes must be marked noxious weed free.

While on the phone with the ID sheep and goat board fokes I asked about having to have the goats tested for Movi or Mycoplasmapneumonia, they said that it was not a requirement or an issue.  Since I was already in the mood and warmed up while I was on the phone with Mili Chapic ( SCRAPIE USDA Olympia) I asked her about the M-pneumonia swab survey and where I could get that done.  She gave me a name and number.  The person she put me in contact with was Maggie Highland at WSU Pullman (509-335-6327).  I called her and asked her about the M-peumonia nasal swab pack goat serve.  She was really great!!!  She probably spoke with me for half an hour at least. At the end she gave me her email and said she would send me out 3 sets of nasal swab kits and the equipment to do blood draws on my goats free of charge.  Very, very cool.

All and all a very productive and educational day.  I hope all of this did not confuse anyone and the information is correct to my understanding.  Below is a list of the cantacts I made today.  They where all very nice and answered all my question politely.

Contact list
Idaho Dept of Agriculture-208-332-8500
Idaho Dept of Agriculture sheep and goat board-208-334-3115
Idaho Dept of Agriculture "Hay Guy" Dan Saford 208-332-8592  Super nice guy!!!!!
Washington SCRAPIE ID number contact  Mili Chopic Olympia USDA 360-239-5360  Very helpful and nice!!!!
WSU Mycoplasmaovipneumonia Specialist and swab survey person- Maggie Highland 509-335-6327 Knows everything!!!

[Nanno]

Check your goats' ears Mike. They probably already have tattoos from the breeder and should not be tattooed again. Swab the ears with alcohol, go into a shaded area, and shine a flashlight through the back of each ear to look for tattoos. When it comes to Scrapie, every breeder should be tattooing or tagging their goats' ears. Scrapie is spread through placental fluid, so herd of origin is what the USDA is actually looking for in a Scrapie outbreak. Don't tattoo unless you know your goats don't already have them because tattooing over the original marks will make all of numbers unreadable.

[Deborah Haney]

Wow. I love the initiative and that is quite the information packet.

Here are my questions:

My doe is registered so she's tattooed. How would she get into the scrapie program without ruining her existing tattoos with a tag or tattooing over them?

Also, I heard from someone on TGS (correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was Dave with Trinity Pack Goats) that if you sign up for the scrapie program, the government has the right to come take an animal to test for any reason. Like if an animal born from your herd or from your animal's last herd was found to have scrapie. And that the only test is fatal. Is this true? I tried to find out on the website but It was just a mess of information, most of it geared toward big time producers so I couldn't make much out of it.

I'll probably call one of your contact point people to ask but I wanted to throw the questions out there.

[Nanno]

Don't tattoo or tag over existing tattoos.

I'm sure Dave is right that the government could come take your animals, but I don't think they need a Scrapie ID to be able to do that. If the government wants something, they take it whether you're part of a program or not. Thankfully I've never heard of anyone getting their goats impounded by the USDA for random Scrapie tests. You're more likely to have your goats impounded if you cross state lines without proper health papers and ID (although I've never heard of this happening either). Scrapie is almost never found in goats. It's a sheep thing. It's also more likely to be found in the large herds of big producers. I don't think they care much about us peons.

[Mike]

To clear up the  Scrapie  question.  Mili in Olympia said they do not test goats.  The only way to test for Scrapie is post mortum with a brain sample.  She said that if a goat gets strangly sick an dies, then call her and they will do a brain tissue test.  I believe she said there has not been a case in Wa since 2007.  The SCRAPIE ID is just a way to track your animal state to state.

[Mike]

Wow. I love the initiative and that is quite the information packet.

Here are my questions:

My doe is registered so she's tattooed. How would she get into the scrapie  program without ruining her existing tattoos with a tag or tattooing over them?

Also, I heard from someone on TGS (correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was Dave with Trinity Pack Goats) that if you sign up for the scrapie program, the government has the right to come take an animal to test for any reason. Like if an animal born from your herd or from your animal's last herd was found to have scrapie. And that the only test is fatal. Is this true? I tried to find out on the website but It was just a mess of information, most of it geared toward big time producers so I couldn't make much out of it.

I'll probably call one of your contact point people to ask but I wanted to throw the questions out there.

I would call Mili and ask if you ca use the already existing tatoo as the goats personal SCRAPIE  number and just get a heard number from her, or vall Idaho and ask if a breeder number will work instead of a SCRAPIE number.  Never hurts to ask a question.