Know your Bovine Intestinal Parasites and stay on top of your herd.The same general principles apply to dairy cattle, although the details may vary and, in addition, milk withholding periods of anthelmintics (especially flukicides) also need to be considered. The importance of various cattle worms in different climatic zones is summarised below.
A brief outline follows… Continue reading
Fleas – What you need to know about this pestAlthough they feed on the blood of dogs and cats, they sometimes bite humans. They can live without food for several months, but females must have a blood meal before they can produce eggs. They can deliver about 4000 eggs on the host’s fur. The eggs go through four life-cycle stages: embryo, larva, pupa, and imago (adult). This whole life cycle from egg to adult takes from two to three weeks, although this depends on the temperature. It may take longer in cool conditions.
Their legs are long, the hind pair well adapted for jumping: a flea can jump vertically up to Continue reading
The buffalo fly (Haematobia irritans) is a small blood sucking parasite which infests cattle and buffalo.
The buffalo fly was accidentally introduced into Northern Australia in the mid-nineteenth century. By
2000, infestations had begun to be seen as far south as the mid north coast of NSW. Buffalo fly is Continue reading
Fasciola hepatica or Liver Fluke is a flatworm that parasitises a wide range of hosts including sheep, cattle, horses, rabbits, wallabies and even humans. The adults live in the bile duct and feed on blood, which can lead to chronic disease and impairment of performance, but greater impacts are usually seen from the damage caused by the immature flukes developing within the liver.
AN INTRODUCTION TO TICKS
Ticks are blood feeders with an almost worldwide distribution. Most active stages require blood as a nutritive source and, in the case of adults, for sperm or egg production. Continue reading