Fecal Egg Counts in Cattle
maximize for profit and health
Efficient parasite control programs on cattle operations are vital in order to increase animal production and maintain top animal health. There is a great deal of farm-to-farm variation in how animals are housed, grazed, and maintained, though parasite monitoriing should be implemented regardless of husbandry and management practices.
Young cattle (under 2 years old) will have much higher parasite burdens when compared to their mature counterparts, and the surveillance of parasite burdens is essential in maintaining optimal animal health. Controlling parasites in young cattle will lead to a higher price point at the time of sale, greater reproductive efficiency, and greater milk production in replacement heifers and young cows, and overall healthier animals as they age.
In cattle, efficient parasite control manifests in maximized profit and health. The over-use, and misuse, of dewormers has led to a dramatic rise the in the level of anthelmintic (“dewormer”) resistance that is being found in the cattle industry, making the use of fecal egg counts for diagnosis, treatment, culling, and management of cattle essential for maximized operational success on any given cattle operation.
“On a typical cattle operation, 80% of the parasites are going to be found in 20% of the animals (the 80:20 Rule).
If a producer is deworming their entire herd, they are wasting money on treating 80% of their animals.
Not only is there money being lost through unnecessary treatments, but every time a dewormer is administered, resistance to that dewormer is increased in the parasite populations.”
The effects of parasitisms can be divided into two categories: clinical and subclinical. Clinical effects are losses that can be easily visualized such as roughness of hair coat, anemia, diarrhea, lethargy, etc. Subclinical effects (which make up most of the losses and are of major economic importance in the cattle industry) are things that tend to go unnoticed. These can be measured if routinely monitored, but greatly affect overall animal productivity: milk production, weight gains, altered carcass composition, conception rates, and more.
REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY
The severity of parasite infections varies in individual animals, and is dependent on age, stress levels, secondary illnesses, production status and sex of the animal. Weaned calves are particularly susceptible to parasitisms. Weaning is a very stressful process, and suppresses the immune system, when these animals having a naïve and immature immune system. Healthy, mature cows develop a degree of age-immunity against internal parasites (although there are some worms that persist even into adulthood). For mature cows, parasites are most damaging near the birthing process due to the stress of the event (and the suppression of their immune system).
Cows, specifically dairy cattle and cows with first or second-year calves, can have lower milk yields due to the presence of parasites. Bulls tend to be more susceptible to worms due to a lower gastrointestinal immune response; this can be compounded by bulls neglecting to properly eat, drink, or sleep while they are breeding, leading to lowered overall health.