How to Test Goat Manure for Parasites

Parasites in goats can range from relatively harmless, such as the intestinal thread worm, to deadly, such as the barber pole worm. To identify the best course of treatment for your goat's parasites it is crucial to properly identify the intestinal free-loader. Of course, the easiest way to do this is usually to contact your veterinarian. If for some reason this isn't possible, you can identify the worm yourself with some basic tools and know-how no more advanced than what you may have encountered in high school biology.

Things You'll Need

  • Microscope
  • Blank slides
  • Glass slide cover
  • Gram scale
  • Disposable gloves
  • 3 beakers
  • Strainer
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Test tube and holder
  • Flotation solution
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Instructions

    • 1

      Collect a feces sample from your goat.

    • 2

      Mash three grams of feces in a beaker using a Popsicle stick, adding 25 milliliters of flotation solution and stirring well. Let the mixture sit for two minutes.

    • 3

      Strain excess liquid from the mixture, letting it drain into another beaker. Let the liquid sit for another two minutes.

    • 4

      Pour the liquid into a test tube, filling the test tube just beyond the brim.

    • 5

      Place the slide cover on top of the test tube so that it is in contact with the liquid.

    • 6

      Allow the solution to sit for 20 minutes and the eggs will rise to the slide cover. Remove the slide cover and place it egg-side down on a slide.

    • 7

      View the slide through your microscope using a 10-power setting. Slowly scan the slide, top to bottom from one side to the other, searching for eggs. Once you find the culprits carefully increase magnification to 40-power to get a closer look.

    • 8

      Identify the type of parasite by the shape and features of the eggs. Brown stomach worm eggs have a long oval shape and a bulbous cluster in the center. Barber pole worm eggs are rounder and cloudy throughout. Coccidia eggs look like eggs split in half lengthways so that the yolk is visible and they are a quarter the size of stomach worms.