DIY worm counts

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paddy555

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does anyone do them and how easy is it to recognise the eggs and to get the equipment to do them? (this is in addition to proper worm counts not instead of)

I have worm counts done at Westgate and have no problem with their excellent service however I wonder if that is sufficient? Not questioning the principles etc which I fully understand just the overall effectiveness of a worm counting program.

horse number 1 was worm counted monthly Jan <50, Feb <50, 3 Apr <50,
8 May 100.
Next worm count 20 June ie 6 weeks later 550. Looking back there was damage from the worms, you could see slight unthriftiness, coat getting worse etc. I didn't put it down to worms at the time as I just thought continual counts were coming back low.

horse number 2 worm counted 3 April <50 then 20 June 350. Looking back that horse started to show slight worm burden problems from the middle of May. Again I was not quick enough to recognise it as I thought earlier count low and horse had been done for encysted and previously counted etc.

On the recomended worming intervals they should have been counted March and 3 months later in June yet it seems in such large intervals damage can be done.

Does anyone have a more extensive DIY program to worm count. Obviously doing FEC's every month at the lab would be great but quite expensive for all our lot.
 
you can set yourself up with equipment for £300 ish if you know where to look, you do need to get your eye in as well but it's not that difficult.

FECs aren't enough on their own-how do you manage your horses: are they in a stable herd or are new horses coming in, have the horses been away anywhere, do you poo pick, when you worm are you confident you are dosing them accurately, do you know if you have resistance? (ie have you done fec reduction tests) etc etc
 
MotherOfChickens said:
you can set yourself up with equipment for £300 ish if you know where to look, you do need to get your eye in as well but it's not that difficult.

FECs aren't enough on their own-how do you manage your horses: are they in a stable herd or are new horses coming in, have the horses been away anywhere, do you poo pick, when you worm are you confident you are dosing them accurately, do you know if you have resistance? (ie have you done fec reduction tests) etc etc
Click to expand...

thanks. Yes a stable herd with no new horses and ours don't go anywhere, poo picked every couple of days, confident I am worming to their correct weight and I don't think I have resistance to PG at least as did a reduction test for one afterwards. (a different new horse that came in with a high count 2 years ago, that was counted, wormed and recounted) The 2 just wormed had PG on vet's advice and will be retested next week ie after 2 weeks with a reduction test so should double check on PG efficiency.

These counts should have been low and I was confidently opening my e mail from Westgate ready to "yawn" at 50. :D I certainly didn't "yawn" at 550 and 350.
Horse no 2 is PPID (and I do appreciate the problems of those horses) and horse no 1 is most likely one of the 20% with all the worms who ended up in horsehospital after worming last Oct. That is why I want to be able to monitor at least these 2 on very regular intervals from say Apr to Oct to try and catch any upward trend before it starts.
Any help or comments greatly appreciated as to whether this is a good idea or a waste of time.
 
Surely it is accepted that worm counts aren't reliable and that it depends on how the eggs are spread throughout the dropping.
If you were to buy a food processor and spin the whole dropping presumably that would yield a far more accurate count. Maybe that is the answer, though one assumes said processor would be dedicated to the task.......
 
I have just order a couting slide from fleabay for £20 delivered from canada, much cheaper than uk.
Have a microscope in my loft and am surrounded by them at work ha ha!
Need a dedicated hand blender. And a measuring jug.
Need saturated salt solution and bingo you are away!
 
siennamum said:
Surely it is accepted that worm counts aren't reliable and that it depends on how the eggs are spread throughout the dropping.
If you were to buy a food processor and spin the whole dropping presumably that would yield a far more accurate count. Maybe that is the answer, though one assumes said processor would be dedicated to the task.......
Click to expand...

is everyone doing this? When I have collected a sample I have taken about 20 large pinches from a pile of droppings and then mixed them in a container and taken about 5 random sample pinches from the mixture. Is mixing the whole dung pile with a blender giving a more realistic result? I realise that the eggs are not evenly spread so I do worry about the "looking for a needle in a haystack" aspect of worm counting.
 
I answered on the other thread.

but yes.. essentially to get a decent accuracy sticking the whole poo in a blender (or several poos) would be the best thing to do.

This is because eggs are aggregated in the droppings- they tend to release lots of eggs at some times and few at others.
 
ester said:
I answered on the other thread.

but yes.. essentially to get a decent accuracy sticking the whole poo in a blender (or several poos) would be the best thing to do.

This is because eggs are aggregated in the droppings- they tend to release lots of eggs at some times and few at others.
Click to expand...


thank you for your reply on the other thread (put it in tack room before I realised it was in the wrong section)
I note your concern about the worm count intervals.

Better go and look up blenders. The things we need for horse keeping these days. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
wheelbarrow and a big stick and lots of stirring ;).

In one lab we had a blender, the other was a pestle and mortar job!

Also-importantly- if you are doing your own you can do them much more frequently so if you don't pick up on some eggs on one count it's not that much of a problem.
 
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