The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Hillview Farm on August 20, 2013, 10:36:50 am
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Is there such thing as a private Faecal egg count? My vet isn't cheap with FEC and nor is the rival vets in the area.
Obviously i'd rather FEC than worm but at the moment its costing me a small fortune!
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No idea but companies like this say they can do them for other species than horses
http://www.abbeydiagnostics.co.uk/welcome.htm (http://www.abbeydiagnostics.co.uk/welcome.htm)
send them an email?
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I've used Abbey, they will do sheep.
Supplies for Smallholders also does a kit which you send off.
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Emailed both, Thank you!
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I use Westgate Laboratories £33 for 4 kits
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I also use Westgate labs, they are superb, run by a lovely couple called David and Gillian, they will also do the fluke test, and results usually are emailed to you the day after the are sent to them.
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Do your vets not do them foc then advise on the best course of action? ???
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Scats do em for about the same price as my vets - £6ish.
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Blimey, that's cheap Steve - my vet charges £14! Don't we keep threatening to club together for a kit and do it ourselves???
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I'll probably buy a microscope this autumn, download the Id sheets and start doing my own, to tell if I have a good grasp on it, I will probably have the first few fec'd by the vets too and if I am happy with how I perform I will do my own from then on.
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Do your vets not do them foc then advise on the best course of action? ???
Yes but its Very very expensive! Its actually cheaper for me to buy the wormer for 16 sheep than to get one FEC!
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There are branches of SCATs in Redhill and Godalming if that helps.
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Thank you Steve, The redhill branch is about 10 mins away so i'll be paying them a visit
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If they say they don't do it - you can always whinge that the Salisbury one does... ;)
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I'm on it Steve! :thumbsup:
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[/quote]Yes but its Very very expensive! Its actually cheaper for me to buy the wormer for 16 sheep than to get one FEC!
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Agree but wont be if resistance rapidly increases! (I have inherited white wormer resisitance here and wouldn't know if hadn't done FEC) . Vets do seem to charge very different amounts.
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Yes but its Very very expensive! Its actually cheaper for me to buy the wormer for 16 sheep than to get one FEC!
Agree but wont be if resistance rapidly increases! (I have inherited white wormer resisitance here and wouldn't know if hadn't done FEC) . Vets do seem to charge very different amounts.
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It's a tricky one......
Stock keepers like horse keepers will end up with no wormers that work if we carry on routine wormingrather than targeted wormers. Because of resistance issues with people routine worming, horse wormers may soon be vet prescription only, the vet authorities are lobbying for this.
Not sure that's the best route as I think it may result in many people stopping worming altogether cos of the cost unless vets make the costs similar to current. But be warned, unless we stop routine worming the same could happen with livestock wormers.
It's very unfortunate that wormers can be cheaper than worm counting but smallholders and farmers should be doing the responsible thing and that is worm counting, not routine drenching. The only cases where wormers should be routinely used is for worms which are the most dangerous types and which don't show up on counts, for example with horses it is necessary to worm once a year for encysted small redworm as they don't show on the count but can emerge suddenly en masse and cause fatal colic. (tapeworm used to be Un testable for but there's now a blood test, unfortunately that is also more costly than a routine wormer.) I do think the costing structures need to be manipulated to ensure that testing is not more expensive than the chemical wormer.