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RE: calculating size - I measured 10 units on the reticle with a stage micrometer. Does it seem about right to you given the magnification, like you mentioned on the possible strongyle in my earlier post?
Excellent! I'll make those changes you suggest.
Centrifuge shopping - am I looking for a clinical swinging bucket, or will a fixed rotor do the job?
I've been fighting coccidiosis (I think) in this flock for about year. I've lost several birds along the way to coccidiosis (bloody poops>near death>cull) or resulting enteritis (bloody poops>really smelly poops/diarrhea>near death>cull).
Not finding things...those poops look pathological to me - am I just being a nervous Nellie? Kathy?? When I start seeing poops like this I worm them (albendazole, hydromycin B, fenbendazole in rotation - need another class I know), then treat with a coccidiocide and probiotics. The poops will look OK for 2-3 weeks, then start looking bad again - foamy or with bright blood or intestinal bits in them.
This is a young flock of Ameraucanas that lay gorgeous blue eggs. The Splash and Blue colors are most susceptible, followed by the Blacks. The Lavenders don't seem to be affected. Weird.
Thanks for all your help and advice! Let me know when I owe you for a consult
Thanks Kathy, I'll see if I can. Short on time today and this weekend. We spent a lot of time on-line with the tech help, I don't think that the camera software is compatible with Windows 10.
Interesting results from yesterday, I did nine FF's and found some very different results from pen to pen. Most of the pens were absolutely clean, no worm eggs or cocci. One slide had two Cecal eggs and five cocci, another had five cecal eggs and no cocci, and another pen had 35 cecal eggs, only one slide showed cocci only, about ten if I remember right. The free range chickens had a few cecal worm eggs only.
My process this time was a bit different as I would use paper cups to mix the sample with Fecasol then strain through a tea strainer into the centrifuge tube. Spin for 12 to 15 minutes, top off the tube and set the cover glass on and wait for five minutes.
The use of the tea strainer made the slide very easy to read, but also made me wonder if I was not getting false negatives. The last two I did without the strainer, one of those was clear and the other was the one I found cocci only.
My vet as told me before that it is normal to find a couple of eggs and to not worry about it. My question is what is the economic threshold? How many does it take to bring concern and signal time to do something? I feel like the pen with the 35 cecal worms is in much need of treatment, but what about the pen with only five cecal, or the one with ten or so cocci?
My main takeaway is that I need to keep better notes and maintain records so I can reference the results.
Economic threshold isn't going to be a definitive number. For each animal that will be different - basically at what point does production decrease? Broody hens and other animals under stress will have a lower threshold.
In a normal environment 20% of your animals will have 80% of your worms. If you can find that 20% and only breed the other 80% - then over time you will be selecting a stronger more naturally resistant population. Some breeds are more susceptible than others. Some lines are more susceptible than others. I would def deworm any broody when she starts so that she is not shedding so bad when the babies hatch. It takes 7-10 days for them to stop shedding after deworming (if your dewormer worked).
Amazing pictures!
-Kathy