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

HorseMinder Software Soon to Launch

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1100

COMING SOON!! DUE TO BE RELEASED MARCH 2012

StockWatch is pleased to support Horseminder Software which is as stated above, soon to be released!

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.

http://www.facebook.com/HorseMinder?sk=wall#!/HorseMinder?sk=wall

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

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

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -1100

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.

Barbers Pole Testing

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Counts at the lab have taken a sharp rise over the last month with some individual samples measuring in excess of 8000 Eggs per gram (epg). This level tells us that Barbers Pole are nearly definantley the culprit and therefore as producers you need to be aware. Barbers Pole kicked in a little earlier this year. Last season they came as a bit of a shock to lots of producers as the put away their headers to come back to dying stock despite "stacks of feed". So if in doubt get a worm test done and beat the little blood suckers before they destroy your hard work.

We now offer a full Larval Differentiation service. $30 per mob. Larval diffs take around 7 to 10 days for results but can assist in decision making. We also offer a dipstick test for Haemonchus (Barbers Pole) $30 per sample (mob).

Whilst a larval culture is difinitive the dipstick test allows you to have a result back the same day you get your worm test result (ie withing 24 hours of the sample arriving at the Lab). More news on this in Early January.

Whilst a larval culture will definantley rule in or out Barbers Pole a worm egg count of 2000 epg and above at this time of year is a dead set giveaway that they are part of the mix and drenching should target Barbers Pole.

Kind Regards

Tom Shuttleworth

StockWatch

0488 089 676

Test the drench you use

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

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.

Why Worm Test

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

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.

Rain Brings more than feed!

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Rain is producing lots of lush green feed and with it lots of scouring stock, some due to worms others lack of fibre so before you drench send in a sample and get a Worm Test done; you could save lots! Our experience is showing that around half the time drenching these animals that are scouring on green feed is an absolute waste of time. So why not know for sure what you are treating or if you need to treat at all.

We have been receiving a lot of "runny" samples over the last few weeks. Clients have reported that their stock have been put onto great feed yet the feed seems to be going straight through them. In about half the cases it appears to be a change of feed issue as well as the level of moisture in the pasture or grazing crop. Some of the results show counts with no eggs per gram (epg) yet we have seen some up over 1200 epg.

(Important to note: The samples looked the same!)

Half of those producers did not have to drench. Instead they could adjust their grazing managment to include more roughage, addressing the real problem not a percieved one.

Tapeworms Visible in Samples.

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

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, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

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.

Need Shearing Supplies?

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -1100

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/

Stud Genetic Testing

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -1100

Due to efficiencies created we are now able to offer our individual testing service for the low price of $3.50 plus GST. This is for mobs over 50 samples. Armed with this information a Stud can inclued the data into such formats as Lambplan and Rampower, etc. We can supply sample bags.

Stud Growers: Get testing and increase the worm resistance in your Stud to benifit your flock and your clients.