cows
&PARASITES
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From 'House Cows' providing the family's milk to rare breed stud bulls, cattle form a key role on the smallholding. But there is a world of parasites in your grazing keen to infect your precious cows.
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Good parasite control can increase the quality of cows you sell, improve their growth & feed conversion rate and substantially increase their milk yield. Over-do your wormer use and you'll just breed resistance.
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Recommended cow FEC testing frequency: every 3 months
Highest risk periods: after flooding, grazing beside waterways
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Cost of WEC test: £12.50 up to 5 samples
This can be a mix&match of species across the farm
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ascarids
aka the Roundworms:
Ascaris suum
SYMPTOMS
Stunted growth
Coughing
Weight loss
Intestinal obstruction
Jaundice & liver failure
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Low kill weight & rejected livers due to 'milk spots' - white scars from larval migration through the liver & the lungs
WHIPWORM
aka Trichuris suis
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SYMPTOMS
Stunting
Bloody, mucoid diarrhoea
Rectal prolapse
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Low kill weight, very poor feed conversion rates
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Nodular Worm
aka Oesophagostomum dentatum
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SYMPTOMS
Nodules in the intestines
Poor body condition
Diarrhoea
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Condemnation of the intestines at abattoir
coccidia
aka Coccidiosis:
Eimeria, Isospora
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SYMPTOMS
Mainly affects piglets:
Diarrhoea (often pasty)
Blood & mucus in faeces
Skinny
Permanent gut damage
Healthy adults will often have coccidia in their faeces - interpret positive samples with care before using a coccidiostat
ROUNDWORMS
aka the Nematodes:
Ostertagia (the brown stomach worm), Trichostrongylus axei (the small stomach worm), Cooperia, Oesophagostomum (the nodular worm), trichostrongylus colubriformis (hair worm / black scour worm)
SYMPTOMS
Diarrhoea
Lower milk production
Poor condition
Slow growth rate
Midline or jaw oedema
Death
haemonchus
aka Barbers Pole Worm:
Haemonchus contortus
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SYMPTOMS
Anaemia
Weight Loss
Lethargy
Sudden death
Normal Poos
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tapeworm
aka the Cestodes:
Monezia, Thysanosoma
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SYMPTOMS
Look horrible when wriggling out - but surprisingly harmless!
Heavy burdens in calves cause:
Anorexia
Reduced gut motility
Gut rupture & peritonitis
coccidia
aka Coccidiosis:
Eimeria
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SYMPTOMS
Mainly affects calves:
Diarrhoea (often pasty)
Blood & mucus in faeces
Skinny & weak
Abdominal Pain
Permanent gut damage
Healthy adults will often have coccidia in their faeces - interpret positive samples with care before using a coccidiostat
LIVER FLUKE
aka Fasciola:
Fasciola hepatica, Fascioloides magna
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SYMPTOMS
Anorexia & depression
Weakness & dry faeces
Increased respiratory rate
Ascites (belly fluid)
Colic
Sudden death
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LUNGWORMS
Dictyocaulus viviparus
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SYMPTOMS
Young Animals:
Cough, blue membranes (cyanosis), difficulty breathing
Adults:
Cough
Nasal discharge
Increased respiratory rate
Poor condition
Weight loss
whipworm
Trichuris ovis
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SYMPTOMS
Mainly asymptomatic
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large numbers rarely cause haemorrhage into the caecum:
depression, collapse, aneamia, sudden death
nematodirus
aka Nematodirus battus, Nematodirus filicollis
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SYMPTOMS
Mainly a problem in lambs, but cows can be a host and infest grazing intended for sheep