When animals are infested with internal parasites, the adult worms lay eggs which pass out in the animals' faeces. By measuring the number of eggs in the faeces, we are able to determine how large the parasite burden is. Faecal egg counting can be performed on a mob of animals in two ways:

Individual counts - taking 10 samples from 10 different animals and testing each sample. This will give you an idea of the variability of egg counts and is most useful when doing a drench check (10-12 days after drenching to test the effectiveness of the drench).
Mob counts - for sheep this involves taking 25-30 samples, for cattle 15 samples - then combining them before testing the composite sample. This more cost-effective technique will give you an average count for the mob and is useful for monitoring trends. 

Faecal Egg Counting Service
We have a laboratory testing service for faecal egg counting, which is processed by our well trained team here at the clinic. Samples collected by the farmer are processed in house and results will be sent back to the farmer. The critical part is that we must receive the faecal samples as soon as possible after collection – this is to avoid worm eggs hatching before arriving at the laboratory:
Only collect fresh samples from the ground.
Squeeze all air out of bag – this will slow the hatching of the eggs.
Refrigerate samples if there is a delay in bringing them in.