FEC testing shows rumen fluke on BETTER Farms

Herd health plays an integral part in cattle performance. Just as soil can be analysed for nutrients and silage for its feed value, cattle can be tested for a number of health related topics. Blood samples will provide an indication of mineral status and the prevalence of diseases, such as BVD and Lepto.

Worms and fluke are common parasites that present annually in herds across Ireland. Many farms will adopt a routine dosing strategy regardless of the extent of the worm and fluke burden. In recent years, wet summers have seen an increase in fluke levels and there are some reports of cattle herds and sheep flocks developing fluke problems earlier in the year.

Along with liver fluke, the incidence of rumen fluke is becoming more of a problem in the Irish suckler herd. It is normally associated with land areas that are prone to flooding or frequent water logging, but there a number of farms on drier land that are also experiencing problems with the parasite.

FEC testing

Over December, the BETTER Farm participants collected faecal samples from different groups of cattle in their herds. Each farm collected up to five pooled samples and a total of 34 farms were tested. Samples were collected from groups of cattle that grazed different land blocks, e.g. rented land, outfarms, heavy soils and dry soils (see tables one to four).

All cattle were sampled shortly after they were housed as they were no longer ingesting any fluke eggs. As housing in 2013 was much later than initially planned, due to good grazing conditions in October and November, cattle housed in late November and early December should have had mature fluke present by the time the samples were taken.

There were some cattle groups on heavier farms that had received treatment for immature fluke before they were housed. Dan Fingleton’s was one such farm and results for all cattle groups were negative for liver fluke, indicating an effective treatment. As cattle could have ingested new fluke eggs after treating at grass, the best practice for the farm is to retest cattle around eight weeks after housing to see if any mature fluke has developed since the first treatment. There are a number of options for faecal sampling. In the case of the BETTER Farms, the samples were taken on the farm by the farmers and four programme advisers. They were then sent for analysis and results were received in five days. Sample results were broken down into four groups:

Rumen fluke

Rumen fluke is becoming more common in Irish suckler herds and the BETTER Farms have been sampling to confirm its presence for the past two years. Some of the more common clinical signs of rumen fluke are:

In general, cattle on the farms that had strong positive results for rumen fluke received treatment. As there is only one active ingredient that can effectively kill rumen fluke – oxyclozanide – it must be used effectively.

Overuse of oxyclozanide will lead to increased resistance to the limited range of products that are most effective in controlling rumen fluke.

As there is only one active ingredient for treatment, the advice that the BETTER Farms are following is to test for the parasite first, using the faecal sample kit.

There were eight farms with low levels of rumen fluke present. In such cases, where no clinical signs of rumen fluke was present in cattle with low readings the animals were not treated. Instead, the programme farmers will continue to monitor these animals closely for early signs of rumen fluke before treating cattle. Animals may be retested to monitor the egg levels.

Cost saving

The other benefit from faecal sampling is that there is a cost saving if a drench is not required. At a cost of €50 for a 2.5 litre product containing oxyclozanide, each ml administered to cattle costs 2c. Assuming the dosing rate is 25ml/100kg liveweight, a herd with 25 store animals, weighing 400kg liveweight, will have a dosing cost of €2 per animal.

If there is a suspected rumen fluke problem, then the farm could face a medicine bill of €50 to treat all animals. A faecal test will cost between €7 to €10 per sample, but if the herd is sampled and a rumen fluke dose is not required, there is a potential cost saving of approximately €40 over the 25 animals.

Performance loss

Billy Glasheen operates a store-to-beef enterprise near Mullinahone, Co Tipperary. In the late summer of 2013, his store cattle developed a severe rumen fluke problem and livestock performance was greatly hindered. As he weighs cattle regularly, Billy was able to put a cost on the lost performance.

Between 25 July and 2 October, cattle had a daily liveweight gain of 0.29kg liveweight/day. After treatment, daily liveweight gain recovered to 1.2kg liveweight/day for the more forward finishing cattle. The drop in performance means that the cattle were behind target for housing weight by an average of 40kg liveweight. Billy has valued this lost performance across 51 cattle at 2,040kg of liveweight, which at €2/kg liveweight is a loss of €4,080.

Liver fluke

The faecal samples showed relatively few mature liver fluke problems.

However, as liver fluke eggs are not shown in the faecal samples, the advice the farmers are following is to treat the cattle with an appropriate product at the correct time.

For instance, with a negative liver fluke result, like most of the farms had, farmers could treat cattle with a product targeting early immature and immature liver fluke burdens.

Alternatively, they could wait and treat for mature liver fluke. Where a product targeting early immature fluke is used, then the cattle will be retested to ensure it had an effective kill level.

On farms where there are cattle and sheep present, using Triclabendazole products should be used with care as there is a higher level of resistance in sheep.

Proper health planning between the programme farms, advisers and vets delivers the best treatment options for the entire farm which is cost effective and practical.