Fecal Float Questions

[Kusanar]

The current equine guidelines indicate float tests and treating only those with >200 EPG. https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines/AAEPParasiteControlGuidelines_0.pdf

Yep, but most people don't do float tests, I actually don't know anyone that does float tests on their horses. Yes, that is the preferred way of doing it per science, but not what actually happens in the real world.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Yep, but most people don't do float tests, I actually don't know anyone that does float tests on their horses. Yes, that is the preferred way of doing it per science, but not what actually happens in the real world.

Oh I hear that. Mostly breeding farms and commercial operations have adopted this newish paradigm, because it's not practical.
But it's growing in popularity out of necessity-resistance is a serious problem in grazing animals. Once it gets to the point where dewormers don't do anything for the average horse owner, it will have to change.
I have a budding mail-in fecal test business set up so people can just send me poo-mail and I can give then a fecal egg count. I am not the only one that does this.

 

[casportpony]

There ARE some that I'd treat for automatically. Gapeworms

I just treated my second case of gapeworms, or at least that's what I think it was. Three days of Valbazen and she was better.

 

[Kusanar]

Oh I hear that. Mostly breeding farms and commercial operations have adopted this newish paradigm, because it's not practical.
But it's growing in popularity out of necessity-resistance is a serious problem in grazing animals. Once it gets to the point where dewormers don't do anything for the average horse owner, it will have to change.
I have a budding mail-in fecal test business set up so people can just send me poo-mail and I can give then a fecal egg count. I am not the only one that does this.

Send me a PM, I might be interested. Like I said, I'm not super worried about my boys but I am curious.

 

[Shadrach]

As I understand it, @Shadrach 's birds have access to large spaces too.
Selecting for health also means a willingness to cull individuals who do poorly, for whatever reason, so the group as a whole does better in their environment. This approach works, as long as there's this management plan in place.
Mary

They have virtually unlimited grounds, 12.5 acres of this property and the rest of a National Park if they chose to use it. They don't though. Each tribe here 'occupies' about an acre. There are 3 tribes atm.
I've not seen Gapeworm here. Roundworm I see occasionally and I treat with Flubendazole. Cecal worms have been found by the vet here but at very low density.
Coccidia was very common, but in my keeping circumstances it's a land management problem which I have addressed rather than a chicken health problem as such. I treat with Coccivex and since the last major problem eight years ago provide medicated feed for any chicks that are hatched.

 

[KsKingBee]

I just treated my second case of gapeworms, or at least that's what I think it was. Three days of Valbazen and she was better.

I have found that a quarantine area is a must and thankfully doing fecals on every bird that comes in caught the only gapeworm I have seen on this property.

 

[Shadrach]

And are worms always bad? Is there any benefit to removing them if they're present? The answer changes based on so many things, including what kind of worms they are, what the chickens are used for, etc etc.

There ARE some that I'd treat for automatically. Gapeworms and threadworms, for example. Present in any numbers, and I'm treating for them. If I am raising stock, you better believe I'm treating with a coccidiostat starter, and if I had clinical coccidiosis, not treating them could mean my whole flock is wiped out.

The rest, it just depends. If they are otherwise debilitated and have worms, I'll treat them. If they're healthy and have worms, I don't. If they have overwhelming fecal eggs, I'll probably treat them, depending what they are.

Worms are icky. That's true. We don't tolerate them in our dogs and cats or ourselves. Treating livestock routinely without evidence of a problem definitely contributes to resistance to anthelmintics.

Actually, in dogs, there's currently a crisis with resistance to dewormers. Drug-resistant hookworms are going to be problematic in pet dogs in the coming years, and that's not great news. This has emerged because of high-pressure deworming in Greyhound breeding facilities in Florida. Bad practice has led to a coming crisis.

It's the resistance to the chemicals that we use to treat various aliments that I find concerning; mainly because there is some evidence that the creatures being treated with such chemicals lose the ability to respond to parasites/infections without human assistance. This cannot be good for the species.
We don't worm the dogs here, or the donkeys, or the sheep, or any other creature on a routine basis, neither do most of the other farmers/smallholders in the area.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

It's the resistance to the chemicals that we use to treat various aliments that I find concerning; mainly because there is some evidence that the creatures being treated with such chemicals lose the ability to respond to parasites/infections without human assistance. This cannot be good for the species.
We don't worm the dogs here, or the donkeys, or the sheep, or any other creature on a routine basis, neither do most of the other farmers/smallholders in the area.

What about heartworm prevention for the dogs?

 

[casportpony]

I have found that a quarantine area is a must and thankfully doing fecals on every bird that comes in caught the only gapeworm I have seen on this property.

My first one was in 2013 in a chicken, this one was a duck.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I have found that a quarantine area is a must and thankfully doing fecals on every bird that comes in caught the only gapeworm I have seen on this property.

I'd love to see what peacocks get. Was that you that posted the probable tapeworm egg photo?