Pigeonbasics.com

Honestly, I don't know if that eBay search item would work or not.  I'm used to traditional microscopes and with using a mechanical stage that has the knobs to make scanning a slide easy to control.  As a test for coccidiosis, they're in large enough numbers to be fairly easy to test for and it doesn't take much slide-scanning to make a determination.  

However, with roundworm and threadworm eggs, they're often a lot more difficult to find.  There might only be one or two on an entire slide.  That takes considerable scanning--about 15 passes over the coverslip from end to end at 100x total mag.  The product shown in the eBay link wouldn't be as good as using a kid's microscope for that.  The other thing that you can't be sure of until you have the product in hand is the resolution.  It's easy to get high magnification but still have an image that fuzzy enough that you're not sure what it is.

For doing closer work to begin differentiating bacteria and protozoa, you're going to need a lot more power--up to a 1000x oil and that means a real microscope.  They're easy enough to come by, especially if you don't mind monocular.  However, the newer ones aren't going to withstand the abuse that the older ones will.  That has to do with the fine/coarse adjustment gearing.

Pidgey

Thanks Pidgey, very useful information.

I don't know if I should have started a separate topic - have taken a faecal sample this morning from youngsters, this is only the second time I have used this microscope, and just like the first time, I didn't see anything on the slide such as eggs, oocysts etc. only very small things which I presume to be bacteria, I am concerned that I am missing something, I have used a laboratory microscope in the past, so should  know how to use one. I am using x100 and x450 magnification. The books I have are Colin Walkers, which I didn't think was good enough to help with microscope, so I bought another called 'Under the Microscope' by Danny Brown. I thought that all pigeons had cocci, and they were treated to keep the numbers down, their parents were only treated for canker prior to pairing. and haven't been wormed since the end of the race season. Nothing showed on the faecal samples before pairing. I wondered if I had focused on the wrong layer - if you know what I mean. Though I have been up and down with adjustments to check. I just can't believe that I wouldn't find anything on the slide. Could I be doing something wrong ? Or could it be I have 'perfect' pigeons healthwise ? I don't believe that, though they are healthy looking

I paid  £170 for mine through the pigeon papers the very same one in Lidel,s in the town £40 plugs into yhe u.s.b. great piece of kit   (u might have to wait till lidel brings them back on sale) and get the book fit to win by Wim Peters  pigeon health by Colin Walker

here is the one I got off EBAY here in the states has the light unit under the platform and has 100 power to 1000 power adjustable lens. $89

I HAVE ONE WHICH WORKS THEOUGH MY PC, CAN ANYONE LET ME KNOW WHERE U GET THE TEST KITS ETC.

What part of  the test kits do you need ? Microscope slides and coverslips e-bay,

got mine from gainexpress - Hong Kong on e-bay, very quick.

Long cotton buds -

http://www.firstaidforfeet.com/Products_Misc.asp

they're excellent - tho' not sterile - £3 for 100 incl postage  

The solution I believe is just a saturated solution of sugar or salt looking on other web-sites, but not 100%

was there anything in particular fifer ?

P J Lofts have a microscope kit called the Home Doctor which includes the Microscope, a PC Camera that connects to your computer so that you can view on your PC Monitor. Also has Testing kits and a chart to show you what the different things look like on the screen. You can save images for future reference as well as being able to E Mail them.

Quoted from REDCHEQHEN

I don't know if I should have started a separate topic - have taken a faecal sample this morning from youngsters, this is only the second time I have used this microscope, and just like the first time, I didn't see anything on the slide such as eggs, oocysts etc. only very small things which I presume to be bacteria, I am concerned that I am missing something, I have used a laboratory microscope in the past, so should  know how to use one. I am using x100 and x450 magnification. The books I have are Colin Walkers, which I didn't think was good enough to help with microscope, so I bought another called 'Under the Microscope' by Danny Brown. I thought that all pigeons had cocci, and they were treated to keep the numbers down, their parents were only treated for canker prior to pairing. and haven't been wormed since the end of the race season. Nothing showed on the faecal samples before pairing. I wondered if I had focused on the wrong layer - if you know what I mean. Though I have been up and down with adjustments to check. I just can't believe that I wouldn't find anything on the slide. Could I be doing something wrong ? Or could it be I have 'perfect' pigeons healthwise ? I don't believe that, though they are healthy looking

Hi REDCHEQHEN,
How are you prepareing your slide? Just smearing it on the slide or mixing with water or solution? If you do a fecal float, using a salt or sugar solution the eggs will float. If you once find something easy to identify, like a roundworm egg, then you will know the size you are looking for to find other things like cocci and hairworm eggs. I've just started with the microscope myself and find it very interesting. Good Luck
Carol

I was trying every method, first the flotation method, then a sample mixed with water and couldn't find anything - in the end I took the pigeons to a vet and they didn't have any worms, cocci or canker for that matter, so there wasn't anything to see...........

Thats wonderful redcheqhen, but don't give up with the microscope. Have you tried to do a crop flush yet? I don't have any warranting it yet but I am ready to give it a go. I did find 2 roundworm eggs out of four slides I prepared. I was about to do my routine worming but decided to check first and did find a couple, so I wormed em all.
Carol

how do you do a crop flush. just got a microscope 100x - 1200x and not a clue how to use it. done the float test in salt water, found no worm eggs, but how do you look for cancker and coccidiosis.

John

there are two ways you can do a crop flush dry or wet. Some people use a flexible tube about 7" long attached to a syringe and insert it down the canal (the one behind the tongue) and slowly draw the syringe back slightly and then put on slide. Or some put some saline water into the crop by same method and draw some of the fluid back and examine

John

i got the one from pj lofts....only problem is when i switch to the 40 objective it pushes down on the slip/sample when focusing ???????????????????? plus samples dry out fast......with heat from lamp

Quoted from edthekid

i got the one from pj lofts....only problem is when i switch to the 40 objective it pushes down on the slip/sample when focusing ???????????????????? plus samples dry out fast......with heat from lamp

Objectives are different lengths which means different clearances between the objective lens and the slide. You would need to adjust the mechanical stage that the slide rests on, the big outer twirly knob on main body of the scope, is your coarse adjust -turn it clockwise [up!] to raise the stage up closer to the lens, and anticlockwise [down] to lower it further from the lens; the smaller inner knob is for fine adjust.

done that mate no focus till it its the sample ...dunno why ....