A medium to full field average would indicate that coccidia treatment should be given, particularly in young animals. Summary This will hopefully give you a general idea as to how to use fecal examination as an aid to determine parasitic disease loads. The accompanying photos, courtesy of Dr. J. R. Georgi, should aid you in identifying most common parasite eggs. Remember, it is only an aid. One must use environmental and animal observation as well.
All animals have low levels of parasites.
Sometimes high levels of parasites don't show up in the fecal examination. Groups of your herd that are grazed on different pastures must be considered separately. Use the average as an indication of the whole group. If the average is okay, but a few animals are extreme, this might also indicate that a problem is just developing. Remember, there are different treatments for various parasites.