The occurrence of internal parasites existing in the gastrointestinal tract from selected groups of longhorn and angus breed cattle

Gastrointestinal parasites in livestock are responsible for one of the biggest concerns facing commercial cattlemen in the beef industry. Parasite control is very significant in maintaining weight and quality of beef, which ultimately will affect the producer economically in today's market. The control of internal parasites is an on-going issue that will always exist as long as parasites inhabit pastures where cattle graze.;In this study, 15 Longhorn and 15 Angus cattle were followed every two weeks over a 12 week period to determine and compare overall parasite loads existing in the gastrointestinal tract for these two particular groups of cattle. All beef cattle selected for this study were cows in a cow/calf operation and were part of the same herd for the twelve week study located on the Murray State University farm in Murray, Kentucky. The cattle varied slightly in age as well as number of times they had calved over their lifetime. The Modified McMaster's Test was used to determine parasite load for each individual cow based on a scale of 1-4.;Results from this study suggested that certain breeds of cattle have the capabilities to reduce parasite load and maintain a better body condition. Within this study, parasite loads remained at a constant high level within the Angus group compared to the Longhorn cows. There was a considerable difference between total average egg counts among the two groups with the Longhorn herd having less parasite load. The Longhorn cows had smaller fecal egg counts at every collection over the 12 week period compared to the Angus cows.;Fecal egg counts obtained from using the Modified McMaster's test were compared using t-test comparsions for each week and total average. The Angus breed had a total average of 3.13and the Longhorn breed had more consistent egg counts over the twelve week period with a total average of 1.00. The Cohen's D measure of effect size displayed a value of 11.47, which indicates a large effect size within the data.