Abstract:
Twelve Bonsmara tracer calves (aged 6-12 months) were used to monitor helminth infections in the
communal farming system of Botshabelo in the Free State. One calf was slaughtered each month
from December 1995 to November 1996 and processed for helminth recovery. All the calves harboured
worms, but the numbers were always low. The order of prevalence of the major parasites was Trichostrongylus
axei, Haemonchus placei, Cooperia punctata and Cooperia pectinata.