Product name: Westgate Labs, worm count kit
Product size: n/a
Product price: £9.95, this includes a first class postage label to get your sample to the lab quickly
Product details: A newly launched version of their kit, in totally compostable packaging, which is brilliant. Includes:
· (compostable) plastic gloves for collecting the poop
· bag to mix it in if you’re doing a composite sample
· teeny pot for putting the sample in
· label for your details
· information leaflet with very clear instructions
· lab test voucher
It really couldn’t be easier to collect and send off your sample, the response is speedy and there’s the facility on their website to set up a reminder service to let you know when your next test is due. You use the pack envelope that it arrives in to return the sample, so all re-used too.
Findings: I have been using these kits for some time and welcome the new compostable version – a vast improvement. The service remains efficient, speedy and helpful as ever; there’s a one-day turn around with getting your sample tested and the results emailed over to you.
You can test for a few birds, or just a single chicken if you have one with gut problems. I have found in the past, if you have a specific problem, that a quick call or email prior to sending off the sample helps them to identify what the possible issue is and advise accordingly.
The instructions are clear, and with photos of each stage. I test my flock each quarter, so every 3 months, and only worm with Flubenvet if necessary. This helps to avoid a resistance to the wormer.
A service which every poultry keeper should use to keep on top of their flocks parasitical health.
Score out of ten: 9½
Instructions are not clear on how to label correctly. There is no information on what to put in the customer ID box on the voucher or sample number on the label.