Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
parasites noninfectious, so meat fed to dogs or cats that come into contact
with livestock should be previously cooked or frozen.
The symptoms of coccidiosis are these:
■
Diarrhea
■
Diarrhea with straining
■
Chronic dark green or bloody diarrhea
■
Loss of appetite
■
On some occasions, death
The lambs that recover usually become immune, but they will grow slowly.
If lambs have to be kept in close quarters, test routine fecal samples; if they
show evidence of the parasite, start treatment at an early stage.
Life Cycle of Worms
The life cycle of most worms is similar. Millions of eggs from these worms
are passed with the feces. (For example, each
Haemonchus
worm is capable
of producing 5,000 eggs per day!) Under favorable conditions (that is, warm,
humid weather), the eggs hatch into infective larvae in 5 to 10 days. These
Most internal parasites have a
similar life cycle. Sheep ingest
worm larvae while eating and
pass eggs in their manure. The
eggs hatch in the soil, and the
larvae migrate onto the grass.
Flukes require an intermediate host,
in this case a snail that picks up the
eggs and discharges the larvae.
