How to Do Your Own Parasite Testing for Goats

Although some parasites are good, the majority of them are bad. Infectious parasites that invade your goat's system may not only affect its health, but its milk production as well. Regularly test your goats for parasites to ensure they maintain an optimum level of health. To test your goat for parasites, you'll need to sift through its feces.

Things You'll Need

  • Cooking pot
  • 1 lb. granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups distilled water
  • Wooden spoon
  • Latex gloves
  • Glass jar with lid
  • Plastic bucket or tub
  • Plastic fork
  • Eyedropper
  • Microscope with slides
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Instructions

    • 1

      Combine 1 lb. of sugar and 1 1/4 cups of distilled water in a large pot. Put the pot on the stove and turn the heat on low. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pot from the stove and let it cool for at least one hour.

    • 2

      Wear a pair of latex gloves and collect a sample of your goat's feces. Do not take a sample from feces already lying on the ground. Take a sample directly from the goat. Wait until the goat defecates and immediately scoop it into a plastic bucket or tub. Collect at least six samples.

    • 3

      Fill an empty glass jar with three fecal samples. Mash the samples with a plastic fork.

    • 4

      Add some of the sugar-water solution to the feces in the glass jar. Add enough so the feces liquifies when stirred. Put the lid on the jar and shake it to combine the feces and sugar-water solution.

    • 5

      Suck some of the fecal solution into an eye dropper. Squeeze one drop of the fecal solution onto a clean microscope slide. Place the slide onto a microscope stand, underneath the lens.

    • 6

      Set the microscope to "100x" magnification per the manufacturer's instructions. Look through the lens.

    • 7

      Look for parasites. To properly identify parasites found in the goat's feces, use a parasite identification chart (see Resources).