Hi. do worm eggs (parasite worms not earth worms) live when pooped out in the freezing winter? (sheep, horse

Question

I am asking this out of curiousity ... I have my animals dewormed but wondering if horses, sheep, etc p**p out worm eggs in the freezing winter do those eggs die or do they stay viable until spring?? I asked this in PETS and nobody really knew...

Answer 1

The possibility of eggs overwintering isn't important enough to worry about.  As already mentioned, most adult animals continue to shed eggs throughout the winter, although not to the extent as in warm weather.  Some adult worms (inside the animal) go into kind of a dormancy during the winter and certain wormer families won't affect them during this dormancy.  In many animals, there is a pre-partium rise in FEC (fecal egg count) a couple of weeks before birthing.  They don't know if it's a change in hormones that causes it, but that's why it's a good idea to worm them a few weeks before offspring are expected.

Eggs deposited in pastures hatch under warm, moist conditions and will go dormant during hot, dry weather only to hatch when conditions improve (for them).  Many sheep and goat producers experience a worm "explosion" in late summer.  Actually this is the result of many previous generations of worm reproduction finally manifesting itself.  Kind of like critical mass in nuclear fission.

Go on the internet and look up "sheep!" magazine (all small letters).  A year or so ago they published an article I wrote on the subject.  Even if you only have cattle or horses, the basics are still the same.  Namely, wormers aren't the long term answer but pasture management and genetics are.

Answer 2

I live in the high mountain desert area of Idaho (4700+ feet elivation).  I raise meat goats, meat rabbits, and also own 9 horses and 5 working farm dogs.

I live in an area of EXTREMELY harsh winters.  Believe me, it takes a lot to kill some worm eggs, although my long harsh winters really do help cut down on worm problems (supose to get 10 inches of snow tomorrow, along with 60 mph winds!!)

You have recieved some very good answers already to your worm question.  I thought I'd toss out a couple of other things.

Because I live in a climate that naturally cuts down on worm loads in animals (we also have almost zero fleas) I cannot breed for worm hardines in my goats, unlike some people in states with milder climate and more serrious worm problems.

My livestock DO get worms however.  To end worm cycles, I worm three times, three weeks apart.  So first worming, then three weeks later second worming, and three weeks after that third worming.    Most of your problem worms are hatching out of eggs in the intestines of the livestock at about 21 days.  Hitting them with wormer at three week cycles, three times prevents them from becoming mature enough to release more eggs, and keep the worm cycle going.

There's another problem.  If you have stock that is giving birth.  Any animal (dog, cat, horse, sheep, goats, cow, ect) that is getting ready to give birth sends out a different set of hormones...a way of preparing the mothers body for the actual birth process.  The worms that animals have in their bodies are also affected by these same hormones.  It signals the worms to go wild, releasing oodles of eggs.  This is the worms way of being sure to also infect the new hosts...the baby critters.  

If you have ever watched herbivores, like sheep, goats, cows, horses, ect all the baby animals nibble on their dams p**p, even at just a couple of days old.  This is natures way of populating the babies gut with good bacteria that will help keep them healthy and make it so they can digest their food.

Of course this is also the time the baby animals become infected with worm loads.  So any time you have a dam give birth, you should worm her the same day, or at the very least, the next day (as long as she is not ill).

Worms/eggs on the ground are usually killed by long hard freezes.  They simply over winter in your stock and repopulate the pastures in the spring, when conditions are favorable for them to continue their lifecycle to maturity.

Hope this all makes sence, in conjunction with the several really good answers you have already recieved.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 3

a vet told me they will live in the ground unless you get 3 days of a freeze that will kill them

Answer 4

Depends on the parasite.  If your animals have worms, then they will shed eggs no matter what time of year it is.  Whether or not those eggs will survive winter weather depends on the species of parasite.  Some are very delicate and only thrive in heat and humidity and will die in the egg in freezing temperatures. Others can withstand months of below freezing temperatures and be ready to hatch out an infest your animals as soon as conditions are right.  It is always best to assume that parasites are active in your pastures.  If you have a specific parasite in mind, I can find out for you how long a freeze will kill it.

Answer 5

Primary worms  infecting horses, sheep and cattle are the species strongylus.  Adult strongyles, large or small, live in the large intestine and produce produce ova that are passed out into the f***s. These eggs then develop into infective larvae and exist in the pasture vegetation. Consuming grass, feed, or water contaminated with infective larvae infects horses. The larvae can survive freezing weather up to 31 weeks.