38 Worm counts, made easy


A decent microscope and some simple instruction is all one needs to determine parasite loads in sheep


Do you know how to take


samples, use a microscope and evaluate worm levels in your sheep’s manure? The main focus of a Lower


Mainland Sheep Producers Association-hosted workshop


Wool Gatherings by JO SLEIGH


on March 2 in Fort Langley was to give sheep farmers the practical knowledge required to evaluate existing worm counts in their sheeps’ poop and to see if treatment is necessary. Preceded by a 45-minute


presentation by Dr. Joseph O'Sullivan from the Langley Animal Clinic, the workshop covered the well-worn path of how parasite


contamination of pastures happens and how to evaluate and treat the consequences. “The worm eggs are in the


manure,” he said, referring to the worms' life cycle. Once they hatch and develop, climb up the grass where the sheep eat them while grazing. They suck blood and nutrients (depending on species) from their host, lay more eggs in the intestines and from there pass them in the manure and onto the ground, so the cycle begins again. High burdens can lead


to scours, anaemia, bottle jaw, immunosuppression, loss of weight and eventually death. “An egg count of less than 250 in one gram of manure as a general rule is counted as low. A count of 250 to 750 eggs in one gram is counted as significant, and over 750 or TNTC (too numerous to count) as severe,” he continued.


The count level establishes


if treatment is necessary. The samples can be tested further, followed by suggested treatment and retesting if the dewormer was unsuccessful. “If there is a 95% reduction in egg count after deworming, the latter is considered effective, but a reduction of 94% or less indicates there is some level of resistance present,” he explained.


The most popular


dewormers available in Canada are the benzimidazole (albendazoles) group, macrocyclic Lactones (ivermectins), both of which are experiencing resistance by many of the worms, and Flukiver, a new drug introduced in Canada last year and effective against the blood-sucking Haemonchus contortus or the Barber Pole worm. Flukiver has been well used in Europe, Ireland, the


UK, Australia and New Zealand and increasing resistance is already being noted. Over-use leads to


resistance because the parasites which have innate resistance to a specific type of dewormer are left to breed among themselves until eventually most (or all) have genetic resistance to it – something we wish to avoid here.


On other means of dealing with parasites, O’Sullivan touched on programs such as breeding for selection of genetic resistance in sheep against worms, done in Australia and New Zealand. He noted pasture


management, such as pasture rotation, had limited effectiveness, however using pastures ungrazed by sheep or goats for a year was fairly effective. Confinement in barns is considered very effective. Organic methods which


have been found effective by some producers include diatomaceous earth. Incorporating chicory and birdsfoot trefoil, both tannin- containing legumes, as part of the forage has also proven effective.


Testing LMSPA assembled eight


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Fred Glasbergen prepares a manure sample at the LMSPA workshop under the watchful eye of Dr. Joseph O’Sullivan. JOHN RUSSELL PHOTO


the speaker and several club members. This was a great credit to the organizers and their hard work. O'Sullivan brought several vials (fecalyzers) and purpose-use glass slides, plus the necessary liquid fecasol (sodium nitrate solution) to mix the manure into a suspension of certain specific gravity that worm eggs float to the top. The process has eight steps:


1. Obtain a small fresh


manure sample (one pellet is enough for one sheep) in a sealable plastic bag. 2. Using the fecalyzer, pull the plunger out, take a tiny sample from the one pellet (if testing just one animal) and then insert plunger and sample into the vial. 3. Mix a small amount of solution (obtainable at Langley Animal Vet and probably other vet clinics) and mix with the plunger until it is mushy. 4. Fill the container with the solution until it is filled level to the top. 5. Place a cover slide on


the top, making sure the solution is touching it. Leave


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for nine minutes. The eggs are lighter than the solution, will float to the top and cling to the cover slide. 6. Remove the slide and place it directly onto microscope stage to view. 7. The round circles with a


clearly defined black border circumference are bubbles. Ignore them. Worm eggs are oval, visible, but much less defined than the air bubbles. Coccidia look different. 8. Count each worm egg. “New microscopes are expensive. Some good second-hand microscopes are available online,” said O'Sullivan. “It does not have to be a fancy one. Many labs from universities, labs and hospitals sell them when they get to a certain age but are still good. One with a magnifying power of four times or 10 times will suffice.” Some people at the


workshop, especially those with a science or lab background, thought they could perform their own testing following the exercise. For myself, I would like to go through it under supervision, and check!


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