Early Bird: Performance in Research
2020, Journal of Veterinary Medicine & Health
"Assessment of an Herbal Feed Additive on Reducing Gastrointestinal Nematodes in an Alpaca Operation"
Our first field trial took place from August 2020 to November 2020 and utilized a herd of 36 alpacas in Waretown, New Jersey. The herd was under significant reproductive demands, with half of the included females pregnant, lactating, or pregnant while lactating. The study population was treated three times with the original anti-parasitic formula, and you can read about the results in the paper published by the Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Health. The paper is open access and can be accessed either by downloading a PDF or by viewing online.
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Summary:
If you're looking for a quick summary of results without reading the entire paper, you can read that here. However, we, the authors, encourage you to read the paper if you have the time, because there are many details that describe how this product functioned in this particular test environment. The paper also discusses what the weak points of the study were and these are important points to consider for any scientific process.
In summary, the alpaca population was treated with Early Bird (the original, anti-parasitic formula) three times, with two weeks between each treatment. The parameters that we measured were body condition score, FAMACHA score, and fecal egg counts of naturally occurring parasites. The herd was naturally infected with Haemonchus contortus, Strongyloides, Trichuris, Nematodirus, and Eimeria.
From baseline to the end of the third treatment, body condition scores increased, FAMACHA scores decreased, and fecal egg counts decreased. Specifically, body conditions of 3 (ideal) rose from 50% to 55% of the herd, body conditions of 2 (underweight) decreased from 39% of the herd to 17% of the herd, and body conditions of 4 (overweight) increased from 9% of the herd to 26% of the herd.
FAMACHA scores that indicated anemia and significant worm burdens, such as FAMACHA scores of 4, decreased from 23% of the herd to 3% of the herd. Desirable FAMACHA scores that indicated no anemia and low worm burdens increased from 9% of the herd to 47% of the herd.
Fecal egg counts from a range of 100-600 eggs per gram (depending on species of worm) existed in 33% of the test population before the first treatment, but only 8% of the test population after the first round of treatment.
From the first round of treatment to the second treatment, the 8% of individuals carrying a moderate, mixed-species worm burden further decreased to 4%, and after a third treatment, down to 2%. This means that by the end of three treatment cycles, 98% of the individuals in the test population had no parasites seen on fecal egg counts. This was accomplished without any traditional dewormers, without any other supportive measures, and in the absence of any medications, all during a period of high reproductive demands.
This material is based on work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ONE20-371.
Pending and Future Research
While the 2020 study was promising, three more clinical trails have occurred in the subsequent years in order to apply more rigorous testing to these products. The 2021 study involved two test populations of sheep, one herd of Dorpers and one herd of Icelandics. The 2022 study involved a test population of Katahdin sheep. Although the product achieved varying degrees of Haemonchus control in each clinical trial, these trials have yet to be published and the specific results and data remain confidential within the research teams until publication occurs.
Dr. Masur is always open to research opportunities, funding opportunities, and never turns down an opportunity to talk more at length about the particular details of each study. If you're interested in learning more about these efforts, use the contact form found here.