Fecal Tests (pic included)

[CarolynRenee]

I did a fecal test on one of our goats this afternoon and found eggs of what I THINK are intestinal round worms. I didn't take an actual count and not even sure how many is "too many" for a certain sized slide. But some areas were totally void of eggs, and some had two (at 10x10 power).

Each egg had a miniature worm in it, moving around. Creepy. At first I freaked out and thought it was liver flukes because I've seen microscopic pictures of them that looked like what I saw, but according to what I've read, doing a fecal like I did wouldn't bring up liver flukes in the sample. I made a salt solution, smooshed up poop, strained through cheesecloth, then let it sit for a half-hour then took the sample from the top with the slide.

Anyways, anybody else do home fecal tests on their goats and can you chime in on what type of egg this is?

Thanks!
Egg in question at 40x10 power


Funny Springy Thingy at 10x10 power (I think)

[Nancy_in_GA]

The first slide is almost surely a threadworm egg. Not as serious a parasite as most, unless there is a very heavy infestation. More common in kids. Our kids had them often, but rarely had them as adults. They can enter through the skin between their hooves.

[Sededl]

Top one could be threadworms or a ready to erupt Hookworm. Round worm eggs in all species are round when viewed under a microscope.

[o&itw]

Originally Posted by Sededl

Top one could be threadworms or a ready to erupt Hookworm. Round worm eggs in all species are round when viewed under a microscope.

I don't know about caprine hookworms, but human hookworms can't survive our winters and are usually only found in the south.

While researching the matter, I found an old article that has some neat pictures of various worm eggs: http://books.google.com/books?id=s8N...okworm&f=false

and another: http://www.apacapacas.com/parasites/

Finally a very nice article on how to prepare the fecal sample and the kinds of eggs that won't usually show up : http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-a...float-parasite

[o&itw]

barberpole worm egg: (OK state University)





Hookworm egg (OK State university)








Hmmmm... they look so similar as to be identical

I could see how a vet could get them confused


.

[suzyhomemaker09]

to me the second pointer shows a bit of undigested roughage ....
Does not look like any worm or egg that I'm familiar with.

[Pony]

Second one is just debris.

First one looks like hooks to me. ETA: I meant possible whipworm egg, not hook.

Round worms are entirely different: large, ovular, dark spot in the middle, clearly defined shell. I'll see if I can dig up a pic.

[Pony]

Here's a good pic of a roundworm egg. You should be able to find this under the 10x lens.

[Pony]

Good site with some decent pics of oocysts and such.

http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-a...cal-float.html

[Doug Hodges]

Originally Posted by o&itw

barberpole worm egg: (OK state University)





Hookworm egg (OK State university)








Hmmmm... they look so similar as to be identical

I could see how a vet could get them confused


.

Those are identical pictures. Only one set is bigger than the other.

Or is it one side for Hook and one side for barberpole?

[Pony]

They both look like hooks to me, but it's been many a year since I spent an afternoon at the 'scope, reading dog and cat fecals.

[Awnry Abe]

Originally Posted by Pony

They both look like hooks to me, but it's been many a year since I spent an afternoon at the 'scope, reading dog and cat fecals.

And the cat just lays down and purrrrrrrs, proving again their supremacy over humans...

O&ITW, that book link cleared something up for me. We had a bonafied bout of barber pole worm this summer. I lost a couple of good goats in very short order before I even knew I had an issue. I thought pneumonia. A necropsy confirmed it to be barber pole. I did some fecals right after the the diagnosis to see what to look for next time. I could see the near fully-developed worm in the egg slithering around. It was awful looking. I did some googling and it made me think it was threadworm. But I am not a goat parasite-ologist, so I dismissed my layman's search as novice sleuthing. That book shows the stages of barberpole, and the latter stage looks just like what I saw. I dunno. Maybe what one person calls barberpole, another calls threadworm. Bring on the Latin?

[o&itw]

Originally Posted by Doug Hodges

Those are identical pictures. Only one set is bigger than the other.

Or is it one side for Hook and one side for barberpole?

According to the university, the top set of two pictures are Barberpole worm eggs, and the bottom set of two pictures are Hookworm eggs.

They are obviously the same set of pictures.

If you hit "quote" on my post you can see (and follow if you wish) the links to where each of the photos came from.

I am making a wild guess here that even if the eggs look exactly alike that a small animal vet would diagnose the eggs as hookworms for dogs or cats and extrapolate that to goats.

In any case,either the eggs are in fact very similar or OK State zoologists need to quit borrowing each others micrographs.

[aart]

Originally Posted by Pony

Good site with some decent pics of oocysts and such.

http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-a...cal-float.html

WOW these are great pics....with magnifications too!! Wonders if the cocci and worms are they same as would be found in goats and chickens??

[Pony]

Originally Posted by aart

WOW these are great pics....with magnifications too!! Wonders if the cocci and worms are they same as would be found in goats and chickens??

In a word, "yup."