Opinion needed on Fecal Results

[vermillionoaks]

So my goats' fecals came back. They all had clear fecals. Like NO eggs found. Their yard is half grass and half concrete paver bricks. I've never seen them eat the grass. It grows tall around the fence line and stays short where the play. I chased them around starting at about 10:00 am and had gotten a sample from everyone by the time the vet came at 1:00. The samples were placed in plastic bags and kept outside until the vet showed up. The vet said they were put on ice until the lab got them. We did not get results until 5ish the next day. Do you think they are accurate? I paid $20 a piece to send them to the lab. I just would've figured they would have at least 1 egg between them?

 

[ksalvagno]

Fecals are funny. Because eggs don't shed in every fecal. You may get a fecal with no eggs and another loaded. All animals have a few parasites in them. You can't eliminate them, just learn to manage it. But probably your goats have a very low parasite load. I would think that the vet did the fecal right. This particular fecal may not have had any eggs in it.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

I dunno...maybe you are just lucky like that

OR....you could retest with a different lab...

For peace of mind maybe?

Try this one: http://www.midamericaagresearch.net/instructions.php

It's only $5 a sample there, a lot of our local producers use them and swear by them and the only extra cost to you besides the $5/sample is the shipping and your gas to the post office. I have started using them PER MY VET because she is so far away...and busy...and trusts this company...that she refers simple stuff like that to them so she can have more time in the field and less in her office.

Also...what ksalvagno said...each poo is "unique"....so maybe retesting somewhere else with some poo from a different time frame could bring different results?

Just a thought...

 

[cindyg]

I have had a fecal come back totally clean which the vet says is unusual, but not unheard of. I'd say let it go till the next time.