Worm egg counts

Paravec

Member
Trade
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
 

Paravec

Member
Trade
I can’t recommend a compound microscope but a basic type should be OK, maybe second hand one from ebay. It needs x10 eyepieces and a x4 minimum objective anx ability to adjust contrast optics through a condenser. basic egg counts in ruminants and horses is straight forward; vets will likely send it off to a lab who will charge and add on their own costs The worm egg count business from diagnostic labs is rip off. Get a mcmaster slide (ebay) and set yourself up!
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire

would this one do?

No. You need one with a mechanical stage, which means you are able to move the slide around under the lens in order to count the eggs floating in it.
 

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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