Dear all
Regular Monitoring worm egg counts in sheep and other livestock is a modern and important approach to sustainable worm control (e.g see SCOPS advice). For most gastrointestinal worm eggs of ruminants and horses You can do this yourself (UTube tutorials ) and save money. You need a McMaster slide (ebay, ONLY £15) and a basic microscope. You can make the flotation easily by dissolving as much table salt in a given volume of water and checking there is a sediment after leaving overnight. A compound microscope with overall magnification of 400 will suffice - x10 eyepieces and a x4 lens. Make sure you have the lighting correct and optics adjusted so you can focus correctly on the lines of the slide and air bubbles; any nematode worm eggs will be in the same focal plane. Note: immature worms do not produce eggs and a negative count does not mean the animal is free of worms; also fluke eggs and tapeworm eggs of horses will not show up using this salt method).
Consult your vet for advice
Regular Monitoring worm egg counts in sheep and other livestock is a modern and important approach to sustainable worm control (e.g see SCOPS advice). For most gastrointestinal worm eggs of ruminants and horses You can do this yourself (UTube tutorials ) and save money. You need a McMaster slide (ebay, ONLY £15) and a basic microscope. You can make the flotation easily by dissolving as much table salt in a given volume of water and checking there is a sediment after leaving overnight. A compound microscope with overall magnification of 400 will suffice - x10 eyepieces and a x4 lens. Make sure you have the lighting correct and optics adjusted so you can focus correctly on the lines of the slide and air bubbles; any nematode worm eggs will be in the same focal plane. Note: immature worms do not produce eggs and a negative count does not mean the animal is free of worms; also fluke eggs and tapeworm eggs of horses will not show up using this salt method).
Consult your vet for advice
