Relationship between faecal worm egg counts and scouring in Australian Merino sheep

Abstract

This trial aimed to determine the relationship between faecal egg count (FEC) and scouring (diarrhoea), as measured by dag score (DS) and whether any genotype x environment interaction may exist for these traits tested in a summer and winter rainfall region. Significant differences were found in DS patterns between the 2 sites. In the summer rainfall environment, DS remained relatively constant throughout the year. In the winter rainfall environment, DS increased rapidly during the late winter and spring period in 1-year-old sheep. It is recommended that in the winter rainfall environment sheep should be selected for both low FEC and low DS.