Faecal egg counts, larval cultures and other diagnostic methods can be used to assess the level of worm infestation in stock, and whether drench treatments have been effective.
Worm diagnostics
Faecal Egg Counts
If only we didn’t have to collect poo, but we do! Faecal egg counts can be done on individual samples or on a bulk sample (composite samples). Learn about when you might use one or the other.
Interpreting Faecal Egg Counts
This topic is a bit of a minefield, and we can’t stress enough that faecal egg counts are a guide to the number of worms inside animals.
Collecting faecal samples
If you want the best information from your worm monitoring, make sure you collect fresh samples and store them correctly. Here’s a quick guide.
Larval cultures
What type of worm laid those eggs? Faecal egg counts tell us how many worm eggs our stock are passing. Larval cultures tell us what worm genus the eggs are from.
Animal tests
Not all testing for worms involves handling poo! Here we discuss how animal performance and health checks can be used in worm monitoring. This includes things you can check after an animal has died.