Doing Fecal Floats at Home

[casportpony]

I would be interested in seeing side-by-side results from both the cecal and regular poop of the same bird.

 

[Leihamarie]

Might think about crating them at night to collect specimens.
I've rigged a small crate with 1x2 wire on the bottom,
then can put the tray under the crate so poops don't get stepped on.
Just crate off roost after dark, let bird out in morning and collect your specimens.

I tend to get really good samples first thing in the morning from them and 4 of my 7 are still in a large brooder in the house (and they get to run amok in the house a bit before bed) at night so morning and evening are the best sample times. During the day though is when I have to stalk them for samples, hahahaha!

The trick for me is to get them fresh and process them + put them under the microscope quick enough. For direct wet smears (best method for viewing organism motility), the sample+ slide is useless in 15min. I'm such a newbie that it's challenging to process the same sample in both direct and centrifuged but I'm getting the hang of it.

 

[Leihamarie]

I would be interested in seeing side-by-side results from both the cecal and regular poop of the same bird.

Great thought! I'll see if I can do that today!

 

[aart]

The trick for me is to get them fresh and process them + put them under the microscope quick enough.

Ahh, so you want fresh ones so parasites are still alive.
Hmm makes me wonder about the mail in services,
maybe they don't need them alive for IDing?

 

[casportpony]

I think fresh a preferred for IDing too.

@KsKingBee , have you found that fresher samples yield mor accurate readings?

 

[KsKingBee]

As long as the sample is kept cool or refrigerated they can stay viable for a couple of days.

 

[Leihamarie]

fresher tends to be better. Giardia and Tritrichomonas won't survive any type of mail-in or storage. They require immediate viewing. I really liked this article that explains the whole centrifuge process: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.co...ifugal-fecal-flotation?id=&pageID=1&sk=&date=

 

[Kiki]

fresher tends to be better. Giardia and Tritrichomonas won't survive any type of mail-in or storage. They require immediate viewing. I really liked this article that explains the whole centrifuge process: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.co...ifugal-fecal-flotation?id=&pageID=1&sk=&date=

Thanks for the link.
Are their any other sites you would recommend to learn about doing at home fecals?

 

[KsKingBee]

fresher tends to be better. Giardia and Tritrichomonas won't survive any type of mail-in or storage. They require immediate viewing. I really liked this article that explains the whole centrifuge process: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.co...ifugal-fecal-flotation?id=&pageID=1&sk=&date=

While those may be fun to look at they are not on my radar as for things I need to be cautious of. I only need to identify worm eggs or cocci to know when or if I need to treat. Cocci and worm eggs can live on or in the ground for a long, long time before it reinfests our animals.

 

[Leihamarie]

Thanks for the link.
Are their any other sites you would recommend to learn about doing at home fecals?

there have been several mentioned in the various "home fecal" threads but some of the ones that have really worked well for me are:

http://goatdocs.ansci.cornell.edu/R...atHealth/GoatParasites/TakingFecalSamples.pdf

http://slideplayer.com/slide/1737482/

http://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/files/McMaster-Test_Final3.pdf

https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uplo...-Lab-Procedures-Handouts-Gordon-Carrieres.pdf