Doing Fecal Testing at Home

OneFineAcre

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I see two eggs in each image. They are not coccidia. But, I do not know what they are.:hu
 

VKat

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Correct. I hate that pointer thing :/

Here is maybe a better, closer picture. I swear I could even see movement inside this one.
And I found coccidia! It is much smaller and was hard to get a pic of. I'm still getting the hang of trying to get these photos.
fec4.jpg
fec5.jpg
 

OneFineAcre

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Correct. I hate that pointer thing :/

Here is maybe a better, closer picture. I swear I could even see movement inside this one.
And I found coccidia! It is much smaller and was hard to get a pic of. I'm still getting the hang of trying to get these photos.
View attachment 7334 View attachment 7335

That's definitely a coccidia egg in the 2nd darker photo. They are pretty easy to tell apart due to the shape and they are smaller. I'm no good at telling the worm eggs apart.
 

Pearce Pastures

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Nice chart! Thanks! I am still learning fecals too. Cocci are easy but jeez is it tricky to tell the differences in other parasites.
 

OneFineAcre

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You said you thought you saw movement in that one egg? Thread worms (strongyloides) are the most common worm in goats and develop rapidly and are often almost at the embryonic state when passed. So, you may have seen movement and that does almost look like a worm in it.

To me, your eggs seemed shaped more like the threadneck worms (Nematodirus ) kind of slightly pointed on each end? Or, maybe the Trichostrongylus (bankrupt worm) . If you read the description on the 2nd page of the chart, it says there is a lot of clear space in the egg which yours do have around the edge. I believe it is one of these two, but I really believe yours are trichostrongylus. The Nematodirus are larger I think and only have 2-8 blastomeres inside the egg.

Tricostrongylus is what I have most often.
 
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Southern by choice

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That is a great chart! @OneFineAcre

The biggest issue is scale, and unless you are accustom to running fecals it can be very hard to understand that some may look identical under the scope at 100x magnification, so understanding egg sizes are important.
I do not see the Large American Liver Fluke or the Common Liver Fluke on the chart.
Flukes, contrary to what many vets say ARE in many regions and are often overlooked.
Some eggs have flattened poles at the ends, that helps with identification also.

The threadneck in the chart is kind of poor quality, a thread neck will have thickened shell at the poles. Often these are seen in the 8 cell stage. They are very large... 150-230 by 80-110 (computer doesn't have the symbol)

The threadworm and the lungworm in the embryonated stage will look like a "worm" inside... so how to tell the difference? They do look a little different but the biggest factor would be the size. Threadworm 40-60 x 20-25 Lungworm 112-138 x 69-90

We recommend to anyone first learning is to have a lab or vet run your fecal, identify for you that way you will get use to what that kind of egg looks like. When first learning it is important that you do not rely only on your findings.

Pictures posted, just like in the chart, distort the actual size that we are viewing. Cocci eggs can be much smaller than what you have in your picture that you found on your slide, so keep that in mind. Great job on finding it!

Over time it will become easier and easier but PLEASE utilize your vet/lab until you become very familiar.
 
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