IMPORTANCE OF DEWORMING IN BACKYARD POULTRY
Mahanthesh M.T*., Sreedhara J.N., Jagjiwan Ram, Mahesh C, Kotresh Prasad , Manjunath Patil and Prahalad
University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur
Email: drmahan001@gmail.com
Backyard poultry farming is vital to agricultural production in India. Nematode infections in chickens are very common in backyard chickens, with prevalence ranging from 35 to 100% with a large number of nematode species typically identified, including Ascaradia galli, Hetarakis gallinarum, and Capillaria spp. (Permin et al., 1997; Poulsen et al., 2000). Infections by other types of helminths—cestodes and trematodes are less frequently reported.
The total number of poultry in the world has been estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 1997) to be 14.718 million, with 1.125 million distributed throughout the African continent, 1.520 million in South America, 6.752 million in Asia, 93 million in Oceania, 3.384 million in North America and 1.844 million in Europe. The most commonly kept poultry are chickens (Gallus spp.), ducks (Carina spp.), geese (Anse r spp.) and turkeys (Meleagris spp.). Among these, domestic chickens (Gallus domesticus) are the most important.
Tropical areas traditional poultry production is often described as a low input/low output system, where poultry flocks of 10-20 birds are left scavenging around the house during daytime. Here they obtain what feed they can get from the environment such as insects and seeds. In addition, they may be given leftovers from the kitchen and other types of offal. Parasitic infections have a clear impact on the development and productivity of the infected species, primarily affecting the weight gain (Sargison et al.,2017). There are a number of off-the-shelf dewormers that are typically administered in mass without obtaining a diagnosis but only a small number of studies have sought to estimate the impact that dewormers have on weight gain of smallholder chickens.
MAJOR PARASITES OF POULTRY :
The prevalence of most parasitic diseases in poultry seems to have been reduced significantly in commercial indoor poultry production systems due to improved housing, hygiene and management. However, parasitic diseases continue to be of great importance in deep-litter and free-range commercial systems. In traditional systems throughout the world a number of parasites are widely distributed and contribute significantly to the low productivity. The most commonly mentioned parasites are Eimeria spp., Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum which is mainly due to the many studies carried out on these parasites. The three broad groups are Endoparasites (Table 1), Ectoparasites (Table 1), and protozoa (Table 1). Furthermore, the three most important commercial bird species have been pictured in association with their most common parasites.
Table1. Parasites of Poultry:
Parasite
|
Host | Predilection site |
Nematodes | ||
Oxyspirura mansoni | chickens, turkeys, guinea fowls | Eye, Lacrimal duct |
Syngamus trachea | pheasants, chickens, turkeys, geese, guinea fowls, quails, pea fowls | Trachea, lungs |
Gongyhmema ingluvicola | chickens, turkeys, partridges. pheasants, quails | Oesophagus, crop |
Tetraameres spp. | chickens, turkeys, ducks, grouse, pigeons, quails, guineafowls, geese | Proventriculus |
Acuria hamulosa | chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, pheasants, quails | Gizzard |
Cestodes | ||
Railliettina spp | chickens, turkeys, guineafowls, pigeons | Small intestine |
Devainea Proglottina | Fowls, Pigeon | Small intestine |
Hymenolepis spp | Fowls, Pigeon | Small intestine |
Trematodes | ||
Echinostoma spp | Ducks and Geese | Caeca and Rectum |
Prosthogonimus spp | Ducks and Geese | Oviduct and Rectum |
Protozoa | ||
Eimeria spp | Chicken and ducks | Small intestine |
Control Measures Endoparasites
- Identification of the type of Parasite and its treatment
- Routine deworming using commonly used drugs mentioned has below
- Adequate nutrition
- Building the genetic resistance against the parasites
Active ingredient | Administration | Indication |
Fenbendazole | In-feed | Ascaridia galli, Capillaria spp., Syngamus trachea |
Flubedazole | In-feed | Intestinal nàmatodes, ces odes in chickens |
Levamisole | In-feed | Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum, Capillaria spp., Syngamus trachea |
Mebendazole | In-feed | Intestinal nematodes, Syngatnus trachea, cestodes’ |
Piperazine | In feed or Drinking water | Ascaridia gain, (He erakis gallinarum), Tetrameres spp. |
Conclusion:
Poultry production is increasing rapidly partly due to the low establishment cost and efficiency of poultry to convert nutrients into animal protein. At present 30 % of the world animal protein for human consumption comes from poultry products. Two systems, with intet mediates, exist at present: the backyard system and the cómmercial system. Approximately 80% of the world poultry population is found in backyard systems. A number of these are known to be highly pathogenic, causing not only heavy production losses, but also death.
References:
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