| My Experience Drawing Blood For Testing & Where To Get The Supplies...etc. |
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Well I've had horses for a long time and now that I'm getting seriously into goats....well it was time
I learned to do my own vaccinations and also draw blood for testing.
I myself don't care for needles so this all sounded REALLY intimidating. One spring I "read up"
and managed to learn to vaccinate my horses on my own and with a lot a reading and the help of a
friend also learned how to vaccinate goats.
Drawing blood though....well that sounded REALLY SCARY! To find an artery? To have to get a
needle in it? Well it had me really stressing but no way around it....I had to learn. I thought well...if
others can learn to then so can I...which means so can you too. Period! I mean none of us are
smarter then the other so if one lady can do it another can right? Right!
I tried BIOTRACKING for CAE testing and they use the ELISA test, which is the test WADDL uses
for CAE, and their pricing is GREAT.
For very accurate and other testing TOO such as CAE & CL etc I recommend WADDL. Remember
to send the accession form and animal ID forms with your samples.
So this is what was recommended to me to use for supplies and after purchasing them and doing 15
goats (some Nigerians & Nubians)...well I totally recommend any newbie go with the same supplies.
:)
BLOOD COLLECTION SUPPLY LINKS
-Please click on the names of the items to be taken
to the site they are sold on.
-You will need at least as many HOLDERS as you have goats to be tested.
-The NEEDLES you will need. These screw into the holder and are in essence double sided. So
once screwed in their will be one pointing out (which will go into the artery) and one will be within
the holder pointing down). I ordered both sizes to try them both as various breeders seemed to like
one or the other. I myself found that in the future I will only be ordering the shorter, 22x1" , ones
as I personally liked these best as they were the thinnest yet shortest. I found the others to be too
long for me.
-The VACUTAINER TUBES you will need. FIRST I ordered the 10 ML. These were rather large
and next time I ordered the 3 ML. Both I found have their plus and minuses. The 10 ML are kind
of hard to get the bottom of your hand under to push up on the needle on. The 3 ML are so small it
also makes it hard so found I'm indifferent really on the size I go with. I might lean a tad toward
the 10 ML.
As a note you're supply will probably last years as you have to buy them in large quantities. That or
you can sell some to your goat friends. If you only need to test a few ask your vet if they'd sell you
individual ones.
MY EXPERIENCE IN DOING THIS:
Well I thoroughly looked over these two sites first in terms of learning how to find the vein:
http://goatconnection.com/articles/publish/article_151.shtml
http://www.u-sayranch.com/goats/drawblood/page2.html
-I then shaved the goats next the two days prior (as I had 15 goats to do the first time). Shave along
the center and front-left of their neck (that being their left not yours). Unfortunately my clippers
quit when I was close to done so three goats did not get shaved. NOTE: When I did draw blood I
learned that you DO WANT YOUR GOATS CLIPPED. Doing those three unshaved goats was 8
times harder then the others.
-On the day of the blood draw I went and attached all the needles to the holders (leaving the cap on
the outer needle until I was ready to use it).
-I had my test tubes already labeled (though you may want to wait as a little blood may get on
some). I would probably do it again though and have extra labels ready to replace or cover any that
get blood on them as being organized really made a difference.
-I also had a soapy bucket of water to rinse or wash my hands after each goat.
-Have extra test tubes ready as you'll need them when you miss the vein and have to try again.
-So then I'd have Matt hold the goat while I prepped the vile, needle, and holder.
-I would take the vile and push it up into the lower part of the holder and into the lower needle
pushing the top of the vile into the needle but NOT pushing the needle all the way through/in yet.
-I would then find get down by the goat and remove the top needle cap.
-Then I would hunt for the vein/artery. This is easiest done by opening your hand like in a choke
position and just pressing it tightly up against the goats neck to put pressure all the way around
slightly. Eventually you'll see that vein pop out. When you are facing the goat it'll be on your right
side (the goats left) slightly of the neck. Once found it I would count to three so Matt could increase
his tight hold on the goat and then would put the needle in the vein/artery.
-I then had to quickly push the but up so that the needle fully pierced it and thus the suction began.
-At the point the blood is sucked FAST into the tube. It takes about 2-3 seconds to get all you need.
-I'd then pull the needle out and place my finger on the goats neck to allow it to clot for a few
seconds.
-While Matt put that goat away I would pull the needle out of the vile (it then reseals itself). And i
would then remove the needle(s) from the holder and put their caps on, discard them, and then
wash.
-I'd then proceed to prepping the next needle, vile, and holder.
I think I really recommend the vile, holder, and needle over a syringe as I imagine it is MUCH
quicker and easier. The goats start to squirm after 5 seconds in their awkward position and
probably due to the needles etc. I imagine working with a syringe and plunger and trying to keep
the needle in place and draw back the plunger would make it very hard compared to simply holding
the needle in place while the vaccutainer/vile does all the work for you. That is just my thought
though.
The items then are package according to WADDL's instructions. I wrap the tubes individually in
paper towel and then pack them in groups and seal them in a ziplock bag. Then pack those into
boxes with the accession and ID forms and ship so it arrives within 2 days FedEx.
I learned to do my own vaccinations and also draw blood for testing.
I myself don't care for needles so this all sounded REALLY intimidating. One spring I "read up"
and managed to learn to vaccinate my horses on my own and with a lot a reading and the help of a
friend also learned how to vaccinate goats.
Drawing blood though....well that sounded REALLY SCARY! To find an artery? To have to get a
needle in it? Well it had me really stressing but no way around it....I had to learn. I thought well...if
others can learn to then so can I...which means so can you too. Period! I mean none of us are
smarter then the other so if one lady can do it another can right? Right!
I tried BIOTRACKING for CAE testing and they use the ELISA test, which is the test WADDL uses
for CAE, and their pricing is GREAT.
For very accurate and other testing TOO such as CAE & CL etc I recommend WADDL. Remember
to send the accession form and animal ID forms with your samples.
So this is what was recommended to me to use for supplies and after purchasing them and doing 15
goats (some Nigerians & Nubians)...well I totally recommend any newbie go with the same supplies.
:)
BLOOD COLLECTION SUPPLY LINKS
-Please click on the names of the items to be taken
to the site they are sold on.
-You will need at least as many HOLDERS as you have goats to be tested.
-The NEEDLES you will need. These screw into the holder and are in essence double sided. So
once screwed in their will be one pointing out (which will go into the artery) and one will be within
the holder pointing down). I ordered both sizes to try them both as various breeders seemed to like
one or the other. I myself found that in the future I will only be ordering the shorter, 22x1" , ones
as I personally liked these best as they were the thinnest yet shortest. I found the others to be too
long for me.
-The VACUTAINER TUBES you will need. FIRST I ordered the 10 ML. These were rather large
and next time I ordered the 3 ML. Both I found have their plus and minuses. The 10 ML are kind
of hard to get the bottom of your hand under to push up on the needle on. The 3 ML are so small it
also makes it hard so found I'm indifferent really on the size I go with. I might lean a tad toward
the 10 ML.
As a note you're supply will probably last years as you have to buy them in large quantities. That or
you can sell some to your goat friends. If you only need to test a few ask your vet if they'd sell you
individual ones.
MY EXPERIENCE IN DOING THIS:
Well I thoroughly looked over these two sites first in terms of learning how to find the vein:
http://goatconnection.com/articles/publish/article_151.shtml
http://www.u-sayranch.com/goats/drawblood/page2.html
-I then shaved the goats next the two days prior (as I had 15 goats to do the first time). Shave along
the center and front-left of their neck (that being their left not yours). Unfortunately my clippers
quit when I was close to done so three goats did not get shaved. NOTE: When I did draw blood I
learned that you DO WANT YOUR GOATS CLIPPED. Doing those three unshaved goats was 8
times harder then the others.
-On the day of the blood draw I went and attached all the needles to the holders (leaving the cap on
the outer needle until I was ready to use it).
-I had my test tubes already labeled (though you may want to wait as a little blood may get on
some). I would probably do it again though and have extra labels ready to replace or cover any that
get blood on them as being organized really made a difference.
-I also had a soapy bucket of water to rinse or wash my hands after each goat.
-Have extra test tubes ready as you'll need them when you miss the vein and have to try again.
-So then I'd have Matt hold the goat while I prepped the vile, needle, and holder.
-I would take the vile and push it up into the lower part of the holder and into the lower needle
pushing the top of the vile into the needle but NOT pushing the needle all the way through/in yet.
-I would then find get down by the goat and remove the top needle cap.
-Then I would hunt for the vein/artery. This is easiest done by opening your hand like in a choke
position and just pressing it tightly up against the goats neck to put pressure all the way around
slightly. Eventually you'll see that vein pop out. When you are facing the goat it'll be on your right
side (the goats left) slightly of the neck. Once found it I would count to three so Matt could increase
his tight hold on the goat and then would put the needle in the vein/artery.
-I then had to quickly push the but up so that the needle fully pierced it and thus the suction began.
-At the point the blood is sucked FAST into the tube. It takes about 2-3 seconds to get all you need.
-I'd then pull the needle out and place my finger on the goats neck to allow it to clot for a few
seconds.
-While Matt put that goat away I would pull the needle out of the vile (it then reseals itself). And i
would then remove the needle(s) from the holder and put their caps on, discard them, and then
wash.
-I'd then proceed to prepping the next needle, vile, and holder.
I think I really recommend the vile, holder, and needle over a syringe as I imagine it is MUCH
quicker and easier. The goats start to squirm after 5 seconds in their awkward position and
probably due to the needles etc. I imagine working with a syringe and plunger and trying to keep
the needle in place and draw back the plunger would make it very hard compared to simply holding
the needle in place while the vaccutainer/vile does all the work for you. That is just my thought
though.
The items then are package according to WADDL's instructions. I wrap the tubes individually in
paper towel and then pack them in groups and seal them in a ziplock bag. Then pack those into
boxes with the accession and ID forms and ship so it arrives within 2 days FedEx.