# Microscope ? for those of you that run your own fecals



## phoenixmama (May 11, 2011)

What type of microscope do you use, and what is your "method"?  The small vets around here won't do them, and large animal vets want to send them off which ends up costing big bucks.  I want to be able to easily run fecals...so I'd love some advice.


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## whetzelmomma (May 11, 2011)

Subbing!


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## freemotion (May 11, 2011)

I got an old lab microscope through craigslist and use the instructions on www.fiascofarm.com, and I occasionally toodle around online looking for more worm egg pictures.  It takes a little practice at first but it is not rocket science.  There are different methods for different worms....for example, there is a method of floating the eggs (which I use) and a sediment method using a plastic champagne glass and a pipette, for lungworm, which I've never suspected here but if someone started coughing I'd go research that method.


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## elevan (May 11, 2011)

Good thread!  After today, it makes me think that maybe I should look into it.  I just dewormed 10 goats, 2 horses and a llama because of a severe worm load in 1 goat (at the suggestion of my vet) because getting a fecal done on all would be cost prohibitive.  Not fun    It would have been easier and more to the way that I want to operate to only worm the ones that truly needed it but I couldn't take a chance with today's results.


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## Ariel301 (May 11, 2011)

I got an old one at a garage sale, it was made by Sears and it's in a fancy box labeled "My First Science Kit" or something like that...it's not the greatest, but it does the job.


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## freemotion (May 12, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

> Good thread!  After today, it makes me think that maybe I should look into it.  I just dewormed 10 goats, 2 horses and a llama because of a severe worm load in 1 goat (at the suggestion of my vet) because getting a fecal done on all would be cost prohibitive.  Not fun    It would have been easier and more to the way that I want to operate to only worm the ones that truly needed it but I couldn't take a chance with today's results.


A microscope will save you a ton of cash....it would have paid for itself this week for you, most likely.  And help your herd be safer and less likely to build resistance.  I've found that often only one goat needs worming.  One can be urgent while all the others are just fine and stay that way.


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## phoenixmama (May 12, 2011)

Well, my first stop  is to my MIL...who does cancer research at a large hospital.  I'm *hoping* that they occasionally replace microscopes that might still be functioning fine, just not "brand new" and "top of the line"...if I could buy a great, used microscope, that would awesome!  

And Emily, I saw your other thread.  

There's something about parasites, that at least for me, that makes me feel as if I've done something wrong. (eventhough my head is telling me, "hey it happens to everyone")  It sucks.


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## freemotion (May 12, 2011)

All animals will have a few parasites at any given time, that is normal.  The problem is when they hiccup or there are solar flares or a cloud goes across the sun and the worms suddenly bloom to dangerous levels. 

I had a well-meaning neighbor throw bread into my pasture last year and the herd queen hogged it, apparently, got a bit sick and then she went from a nice salmon FAMACHA score to almost white overnight.  I suspect the digestive upset weakened the doe or changed her pH or something and gave the worms an opportunity to take over.  Everyone else in my herd was just fine.  It was only by chance that I found out about the bread.  My dogs found crumbs outside the fence and I asked.


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## Hykue (May 13, 2011)

I just did my first one today, and I roughly followed the procedure on the fiascofarm website.  We have an old microscope that my husband got . . . I'm not even sure where, and I think as long as it has a bottom light and goes to at least 100x, you would be fine (although 400 is better).  And don't be confused (like I embarrassingly was, even though I'm a biologist) by the fact that the little lenses at the bottom only say 4x, 10x, and 40x - the eyepiece is 10x as well, so you're getting enough power to see all the necessary eggs.

I'm not sure where to get one, but I think if you're not looking for high-end it shouldn't be too hard to find even a new one for not too much.  There is a suggestion and link on the fiascofarms site, but I didn't check it at all.

Incidentally, we didn't have about half of the recommended stuff, and I still managed to get a solid count.  I haven't repeated it to see if the numbers are similar, but they're high enough that I should worm, so I'm thinking my method was good enough.

We didn't have slides or coverslips, so we cut some pieces from a strawberry container from the grocery store.  We didn't have a fine sieve, so we cut a piece from an old tent's screen.  We didn't have epsom salts, so we used pickling salt.  We didn't have a test tube, so I used a small plastic lid.  We didn't have a scale, so we were going to use two dimes and try to get the weights the same, but figured a measuring spoon would be better, and just used a volume.  So if you can just get a functioning microscope, I think you can make do on almost all the other counts.  Probably it would work better if you could at least be sure of using the right amount of feces each time, though - that's the first thing I'm planning to change - I'm going to get a gram scale.

I was surprised at how easy it was, actually, and also at how easy it was to tell the worm eggs from all the other stuff - I looked for a long time before I saw any, but after I saw the first one I sped up about 50 times, because they were really pretty obvious.  Cocci might not be so much, I'm not sure.


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## freemotion (May 13, 2011)

Way to improvise, Hykue!


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