Faecal Egg Counts

With wormer resistance prevalence and global temperatures on the rise, gone are the days of blanket treating all animals with wormers at certain points of the year. Faecal egg count testing is a crucial tool for any parasite management strategy, be it for large commercial herds or a small number of pets in a paddock!

With our on-site labs we can provide NEXT DAY results for all types of faecal egg counts.

See below for the best way to maximise the use of faecal egg counts in your animals and what samples to take from who and when!

Faecal Egg counting for Cattle, Sheep and Goats

In general, pooled egg counts (i.e. from more than one individual) can be performed for these species. Pooled samples should only be submitted for one production group e.g. only lambs, only ewes, only heifers etc.

If there is any concern for the health of a particular animal, faeces from this animal should be submitted as an individual sample.

Close up picture of a black and white sheep in a field

Faecal Egg counting for Cattle, Sheep and Goats

In general, pooled egg counts (i.e. from more than one individual) can be performed for these species. Pooled samples should only be submitted for one production group e.g. only lambs, only ewes, only heifers etc.

If there is any concern for the health of a particular animal, faeces from this animal should be submitted as an individual sample.

How to collect a sample for a pooled worm egg count

Using a gloved hand and a clean container (kits available from the practice) collect a similar amount of fresh dung from 10 (or as many as are in the group if fewer) individual animals that share the same grazing.
A total of 30g of dung is required for the test to be accurate.
The sample must be labelled clearly and submitted to the practice within 24 hours for an accurate result.
The results will be interpreted by one of our vets who will advise whether there is a need to worm or not and with what product.
To ensure the wormer has been effective, we strongly recommend repeating the faecal egg count 7-14 days after treatment, this will enable us to identify whether resistance is already present on your farm.
As with all things, it’s best not to leave it until it’s too late, so contact us today on advice on when is the best time to do faecal egg counts on your animals.

How to collect a sample for a pooled worm egg count

Using a gloved hand and a clean container (kits available from the practice) collect a similar amount of fresh dung from 10 (or as many as are in the group if fewer) individual animals that share the same grazing.
A total of 30g of dung is required for the test to be accurate.
The sample must be labelled clearly and submitted to the practice within 24 hours for an accurate result.
The results will be interpreted by one of our vets who will advise whether there is a need to worm or not and with what product.
To ensure the wormer has been effective, we strongly recommend repeating the faecal egg count 7-14 days after treatment, this will enable us to identify whether resistance is already present on your farm.
As with all things, it’s best not to leave it until it’s too late, so contact us today on advice on when is the best time to do faecal egg counts on your animals.

Faecal Egg Counts in Camelids - Modified Stoll’s

Camelids are not sheep (or goats or cows!), and that includes their resistance to parasites! Camelids come from an arid climate where parasites do not pose a problem. Consequently they have little natural immunity to them, meaning that a parasite burden that is not problematic to a sheep can cause severe clinical disease in an alpaca.

Alpaca turning its head to look behind it

Faecal Egg Counts in Camelids - Modified Stoll’s

Camelids are not sheep (or goats or cows!), and that includes their resistance to parasites! Camelids come from an arid climate where parasites do not pose a problem. Consequently they have little natural immunity to them, meaning that a parasite burden that is not problematic to a sheep can cause severe clinical disease in an alpaca.

To ensure we accurately gauge the number of worms that a camelid is infected with, we need to do a faecal egg count to see how many eggs these worms are laying. The method used to do this in sheep (McMasters) is not sensitive enough as it only detects to the nearest 100 eggs per gram. The method we use in camelids (Modified Stoll’s) detects eggs to the nearest 5 per gram meaning that we can give you a much more accurate picture of the worm infestation that your camelid has.

The added benefit of doing a Modified Stoll’s FEC is that we can detect the dreaded Eimeria macusaniensis. This is a highly pathogenic (disease-causing) coccidia which is always significant when detected and requires prompt treatment, especially if there are pregnant dams or cria grazing the pasture.

In general, it is recommended that individual samples (as opposed to pooled samples) are tested for camelids. If this is unfeasible due to the number of animals you have, consider testing thinner animals or those that are particularly young or old within the group as ‘sentinels’.

How to collect a sample for a Modified Stoll’s worm egg count

Using a gloved hand and a clean container (kits available from the practice) collect at least 30g of fresh dung from a single animal.
The sample must be labelled clearly and submitted to the practice within 24 hours for an accurate result.
The results will be interpreted by one of our vets who will advise whether there is a need to worm or not and with what product.
To ensure the wormer has been effective, we strongly recommend repeating the faecal egg count 7-14 days after treatment, this will enable us to identify whether resistance is already present on your farm.
As with all things, it’s best not to leave it until it’s too late, so contact us today on advice on when is the best time to do faecal egg counts on your animals.

Worm egg count pack containing gloves, instructions and pots for farm animals

How to collect a sample for a Modified Stoll’s worm egg count

Using a gloved hand and a clean container (kits available from the practice) collect at least 30g of fresh dung from a single animal.
The sample must be labelled clearly and submitted to the practice within 24 hours for an accurate result.
The results will be interpreted by one of our vets who will advise whether there is a need to worm or not and with what product.
To ensure the wormer has been effective, we strongly recommend repeating the faecal egg count 7-14 days after treatment, this will enable us to identify whether resistance is already present on your farm.
As with all things, it’s best not to leave it until it’s too late, so contact us today on advice on when is the best time to do faecal egg counts on your animals.

When to do faecal egg counts?

The main risk period for all grazing animals for worms is during the grazing season. This can be as early as March for young lambs at grazing so, as a rule of thumb worm egg counts should be done at 6 – 8 week intervals for all at-risk groups from March through to September / October.

At the end of summer the blood-sucking work Haemonchus becomes a risk for sheep, goats and camelids in particular. Doing regular faecal egg counting from August to October is essential if your animals have been diagnosed with this worm in the past.

Lungworm can also become more of a problem towards the end of the summer and so doing a specific test for lungworm during this period is important if you have had this diagnosed in your animals before or there is any coughing / respiratory signs in the animals at this time.

In autumn and winter liver fluke become a risk due to the wetter conditions. Faecal testing for liver fluke should be done for all at-risk animals in the autumn and again at the end of winter.

Each holding and even each group of animals will have their own risk of suffering from a parasite burden and while the above advice gives some guidance it is crucial that you discuss the specifics of your holding with a vet, either during your annual herd health planning session or at a specific parasite control plan discussion. Why not book yours today.

Meet the farm animal practice team

Faecal Egg Counts Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get results?

Samples dropped off in the morning will normally be processed and reported the same day. Samples arriving later in the afternoon may be the next day before result are available.

How fresh does the sample need to be?

Samples must be fresh to allow results to be accurate. Worm eggs will hatch out if l faeces are left at room temperature and thus will not be their at counting. Samples should ideally be taken on the day of submission and if collected from the field take “warm and pliable” samples or samples taken after seeing the animal defecate. If not coming straight to the practice then you can refrigerate overnight.

How much sample do I need?

Minimum 5g faces per animal, are needed for worm egg counting a good guide is the size of a 50 pence coin. However 50g faces is needed if fluke egg counting is required too.