News - Stockwatch Lab Worm Testing for Sheep, Cattle, Horses Alpaca, Deer,Goats and Pigs

Horseminder Software a very usefull tool

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Feedback from clients who run horses are commenting on the new Horseminder Software and how easy it is to use and record thier horse related activeties.

Launched in Marh 2012 HorseMinder is a computer based horse diary that allows you to manage all aspects of your horses' care. Use HorseMinder to keep records of farrier, worming, veterinary, vaccinations, dentistry, diet, massage/chiropractic/bowen or any other bodywork, training, breeding, shows and events and placings, as well as a full description of your horse including registrations, membership numbers for equestrian clubs, microchipping and number, and photos of brands and identification photos of your horses.

Horseminder is available from:

http://www.horseminder.com.au/

Individual Testing for Sheep Studs

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

If you own or manage a sheep stud you'll know the importance of offering clients the best genetics.

StockWatch has just completed major software upgrades. These upgrades include a new module to support the growing number of clients requesting individual tests for animals in a mob. The heritability of natural worm resistance is quite high and so when used with other selection traits is a great tool and selling point, when it comes that time. We use the same protocols and methods set by the Nemisis project.

The new upgrade means results are supplied in an excel format as well as Pdf. The excel results can be sorted, filtered and easily loaded into other programs such as Rampower and Lambplan and used to calculated EBV's, Whilst the Pdf file gives you the confidence that the data is secure. Ie you can manipulate the excel results and if by chance the information becomes scrambled you can refer back to the pdf. Or of course we are happy to resend the original files.

The program changes enable better efficiency at this end meaning faster results to you.

The demo report gives an idea of the layout. We also can include a consistency score as well as tapeworm and coccidia levels on each sample.

GeneticReport.pdf

Cost: $4 per sample

Aditional options: + 15c for Consistency Score + 10c for Coccidia + 10c for Tapeworm.

We can supply bags.

Barbers Pole Dipstick Test

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

A worm test and a dipstick test in the warmer months is a great option. Both results are back the same day you don't have to wait the 10 days for a Larval Diff.

We had had a great response from offering this service, growers can make the drench decision fast before stock potentially go backwards whilst waiting for a larval diff result to come through.

The Dipstick test involves a few mixing and dilution steps followed by boiling the sample for 20 minutes, cooling then testing and interpreting results. It measures blood levels in the dung and is a good indicator of Haemonchus infection rates.

Results are rated from low through to high with an explanation of each in the report along with what action should be taken.

Sheep,Cattle, Goat, Alpaca breeder beware of Barbers Pole over the warmer months but they can linger longer given the right conditions...when worm testing we highly recomend the Barber Pole Dipstick test it will make your drench decision easier.

As a blood sucking internal parasite the classic signs of Barbers Pole is Anemia ie pale gums, bottle jaw, stock that just can't keep up when driven, larthargic animals and then of course death. It can all happen pretty rapidly. Don't wait for the sympoms.. beat them early by requesting a barbers Pole test with your egg count.... These little fella's do a lot of damage and multiply very quickly.

On our request form there is a box that can be ticked if it is required.

Conditions Set for Fluke

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Liver Fluke have an amazing life cycle and conditions now are ideal for their abundance.

Remember to test for Fluke when getting an egg count done. Fluke testing uses a sedimentation process as opposed to a floatation method as used in a worm egg count. (we don't require extra sample- we use left over sample from the worm egg count).

The Adult Fluke lay fertile eggs that are evenutually excreted after moving from the bile duct and through the intestinal tract. If the eggs make it to water a second stage forms inside the egg called ciliated miracidium, given adequate water tempature. This can take several weeks or longer. Upon hatching these seek out a particular snail species (Lymnaeid) where they develop and multiply through 3 further changes. Finally free swiming cercariae leave the snail and attach themselves to objetcs including vegitation on the waters edge. Animals then become infected when these are eaten. It is an amazing life cycle and is so interesting as the initial host type the Lymnaeid snail is so specific, yet the final host can be a range of animals that graze areas these snails inhabit.

Test the drench you use

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Consider checking the drench you are currently using to see if it is still 100% effective on your property. If not you could be wasting a lot of time and money.

Using the before and after method is really simple and it gives you a lot of information. Much more than the sales rep simply offering you a drum saying this product is really good and kills everything! Because for many reasons drenches do become ineffective overtime and with overuse. So the idea is simply to take a sample from the mob and get it tested then drench the mob. Send a second sample in from the mob taken 10 to 14 days later for testing and compare the results. a 100% kill is the ideal but if not you then have the information to make an informed choice when buying drench.

Now of course their are variations on this theme for example with sheep; you could identify 10 animals in the mob, mark them in a way so that you can ID them in 10 days time. Drench them and take samples from this group and send for testing. In 10 to 14 days get samples from this group again and send it to us for testing indicating it's a resistance test. We will send the report and the efficacy of the drench can be calculated.

Note: those 10 sheep can run back with the mob in between sampling as the worm life cycles are such that if you collect the second sample in the 10 to 14 day post drench period you are testing resistance not reinfection.

Hence if you wish to test more than one drench poduct just ID another 10 sheep and do the same. It's up to you how many drenchs you can test using this method. Of course you could do the same thing but keep the animals in separate paddocks till you retest, this will suit sme and can save on redrafting etc but have available padddocks can sometimes be an issue.

Any questions on setting up a resistance test be sure to give us a call.

Need Shearing Supplies?

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

StockWatch Kits have been available through Australian Shearing Equipment since our beginnings. They have been great supporters of ours and like us pride themselves on great service.

The team at Australian Shearing Equipment know there stuff, have been in the industry for a long time and can scource all the parts you need, even older parts. Have a chat to Gavin or Laurie, they'll know exactly what it is your after, you can't beat that sort of experience. It's not just the guys that have it covered Tanyia and Beck will ensure you get the right product. If Wagga is to far, that's not a problem - the guys will be happy to post equipment to you. Not only do they have a great selection of equipment in their store they travel to sheds to service equipment on site.

Unit 3 / 3 Moorong Street, Wagga Wagga. (Right next to South West Stock Feeds)

Phone: 02 69214480 Fax: 02 69 217 045 Mob: 0402 100 270

http://www.australianshearingequipment.com.au/

Why Worm Test

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Quite Simply your livestock are worth a lot. It doesn't make sense to make health decisions without the right information... the wrong product or wrong timing can be very costly.

StockWatch Worm Egg Count Laboratory offers simple tests that help livestock owners identify stock that require drenching and those that don’t. Worm egg counting also known as a faecal egg count is an invaluable tool to help achieve sustainable worm control.

This is one of the most useful worm management tools a livestock producer can utilise. A worm egg count is a count of the number of worm eggs in a sample of dung. The results are expressed as 'eggs per gram' (epg) of dung, and split between the roundworm species of Strongyle and Nematodirus eggs as observed. StockWatch will also report if Coccidia and Tapeworm eggs are present.

STOCKWATCH – WORM COUNTS - GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY

• Save on the expense of unnecessary yarding and drenching.

• Help you curb a disaster due to heavy worm infection.

• A Worm Egg Count can also be used as a simple and quick way to check drench effectiveness.

(Collect samples 10 to 15 days after using a particular drench to measure effectiveness).

• Worm Egg Counts are a useful tool to monitor your worm control program.

Tapeworms Visible in Samples.

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Some producers make their decision on the worm status of the animals based on the presence of white “segments”. These white segments are small portions of tapeworm and whilst very visible they are only an indication of the presence of one type of worm. (Cestode)

The jury is still undecided on the economic importance of tapeworm. Yes they look bad but it is no indicator of the real worm burden. (RoundWorms - Nematodes) Tapeworm are not renown for ripping out vast amount of nutrient but can cause issues of compaction in the small intestine if numbers are large.

There are many other worms (mainly roundworms) which are much smaller and their eggs can only be seen under a microscope which have a much greater impact on the well-being of your livestock.

Another misconception is that the consistency of dung is a good indicator of worm burden - if it is firm the worm burden should be low and if runny worms may be the culprit . The correlation between the two is weak, so again testing is the only way to be sure.

Buying Stock, Bringing New Stock Home, Restocking?

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

If you are restocking it is recommended that you keep the new stock separate from your other stock until you are sure they are not carrying any unwanted parasites. Lice is the obvious pest that sheep producers worry about but don't forget the internal parasites. Get a worm test done when the stock come home or before if possible and then another one 10 to 14 days after drenching (if required) to ensure you haven't bought home resistant worms. It is the cheapest insurance against a possible disaster.

Even if you are not in a "Fluke" area be aware that adult fluke can live a long time and we are seeing fluke in sheep that have been bought home to "Non Fluke" areas, a simple cost effective fluke test should be also carried out on purchased animals.

Horse Owners, Manage Internal Parasites – Don’t let them manage you.

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Good worm control in horses is vital for health, growth and performance. Unfortunately the bulk of the industry simply drench/paste their horses at regular intervals. Whilst this seems an effective way approach, for a host of reasons this practice develops many complications.

In the Lab we see the results of ineffective drenching programs on a regular basis.

The most powerful tool a horse owner can have is information. That is the actual worm status of your horses, what level of worm burden they are carrying. It doesn't make sense to make health decisions without the right information... the wrong product or wrong timing can be very costly.

The horse industry has been slower than other livestock industries to adopt worm testing as the norm because it is just easier to pick up a paste from the local supplier for under $20 and paste the horse. The packet tells you it controls a huge range of worms and you feel good knowing you have done the right thing for your animal.

Unfortunately it’s not that simple. Resistance has become a big issue. This can be caused by under dosing, not rotating drench families, introducing new horses without a quarantine period and effective drench bringing in a problem from outside and the list goes on. As horse owners it is most important to know your drenching program is working. Evidence from the lab shows that the same drench product can be highly effective on one farm but useless on another. So it is important to know drench history and check to see if the drench used still works on your property. An ideal and simple way to check this is in two steps. First send a sample to the Lab to know the worm levels present. Then by sending a second sample, collected 10 to 14 days after drenching we see the effectiveness of the drench used. The timing is very important as we want to check for possible resistance as opposed to reinfection.

Taking a wider approach to worm control will extend the effective life of the drench products you use. Simple things make the difference. Think paddock rotations and stocking rates with the view to minimising stress, both nutritional and physical.

Monitor stock for signs of worms but more importantly get into a habit of routine testing to stay on top of the issue because by the time the visual signs are present the production losses have already taken place.

Ideally worm tests should be performed around 4 times a year. It’s a simple process. Collect a small amount of dung from the horse/horses you wish to test place in a ziplock bag (like a sandwich bag). Seal up well and post to the lab.

Request forms and further details on sample collection are available within this web site.

Drench because you know they need it... not because you think they might.