Fecal egg count testing counts the parasite eggs in your horse's manure. So to do a fecal egg count test, you need to collect a fecal sample from your horse – ick! Collecting a sample involves someone (probably you, unfortunately) using something to scoop up the poop and then sending the sample to the lab.
You're in luck because the Zero Egg Count Test Kit comes with a multifunctional fecal collection bag designed for this unpleasant doody, I mean duty. Sure, it looks like a Ziploc bag that you put a sandwich into and take to lunch. But our fecal sample collection bag is designed to keep your hands poop-free, without having to wrestle on a cheap pair of latex gloves that are either too large or too small. You know what I am talking about, the kind of rubber gloves that smell weird, that make your hands sweat, the kind that rips when you try and put them on – what a pain!
No Gloves Required
You don’t need gloves to collect your horse’s fecal sample when you use the Zero Egg Count multifunctional fecal sample collection bag, which comes free-of-charge with every single one of our test kits.
Our collection bag allows you to remain fecal free and collect your horse’s sample much faster because all you need is the bag and a little sleight-of-hand technique.
The secret is to turn the collection bag inside out, collect the sample and reverse the process – that’s all there is to it. Check out this video to see what I am talking about.
With the bag right side out, you stick your hand into the bag and pull the bottom of the bag up while pulling your hand out of the bag until the bag is completely inside out. Then you stick your hand back into the bag, grab a hunk of poo, and while holding onto the doo-doo, pull your hand up and out of the bag. Voilà – your horse’s fecal sample is safely tucked inside the bag and your hand remains poop free - simple, quick and sanitary.
Don’t you think that’s much easier than some of the other mail-in kits that require you to snap on the latex gloves, grab a little bitty spoon and attempt to shovel some fecal matter into a tiny container? Not to mention, you have to fumble around closing the container's flimsy lid while the manure erupts from the container like a volcano. Good luck with wiping it all off before you ship it – yuck!
I can’t breathe – Getting the air out!
Oxygen helps the parasite eggs hatch (which affects the test results) and since there is a lot of oxygen in the air we breathe, it's a good idea to get rid of as much air in the collection bag as possible before shipping it to the lab. This is where the multifunctional aspect of Zero Egg Count’s collection bag is a plus! The following video show demonstrates what I am describing in the next paragraph.
Now, with your horse’s fecal sample at the bottom of the collection bag, place the bag on a flat hard surface. Make sure the bag is open and begin rolling the bag toward the resealable opening. Press and roll the bag to allow all the air to escape from the bag (Try not to breathe in too deep when performing this process). Stop rolling when you hit the poo. Once you have completed rolling the bag to the opening, seal the bag. – that’s all there is to it! Now you’re ready to put your horse’s air-tight fecal sample in the Zero Egg Count’s temperature controlled protective packaging and ship it off to the lab.