A description of village chicken production systems and prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites: Case studies in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.

Dikeledi P Malatji,Farai C Muchadeyi,Anna M Tsotetsi,Este Van Marle-Koster

doi:10.4102/ojvr.v83i1.968

Abstract

The majority of rural households in developing countries own village chickens that are reared under traditional scavenging systems with few inputs and exposure to various parasitic infestations. Understanding of the village chicken farming system and its influence on helminth infestation is a prerequisite for optimal prevention and control strategies. This study investigated the village chicken production system and associated gastrointestinal parasites in 87 households from Limpopo (n = 39) and KwaZulu-Natal (n = 48) provinces of South Africa. A total of 191 village chicken faecal samples and 145 intestines were collected to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in villages of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, respectively. The faecal floatation analysis of samples from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces indicated infestations by Ascaridia galli (18.77%), Heterakis gallinarum (15.56%) and Capillaria spp. (4.00%); tapeworms Choanotaenia infundibulum (2.10%) and Raillietina cesticillus (6.00%) and Eimeria spp. (29.46%). Mixed infestations were observed in five (4.90%) samples from Limpopo province and in only four (4.49%) from KwaZulu-Natal province, of which 1.12% were a mixture of C. infundibulum and Eimeria spp. and 3.37% a combination of H. gallinarum and Eimeria spp. In Limpopo, 2.94% of the chickens were positive for H. gallinarum and Eimeria spp., whilst 0.98% had A. galli and Capillaria spp. infestations. Further investigation is needed to understand the impact of gastrointestinal parasites on village chicken health and production and develop appropriate intervention and control strategies feasible for small-holder farmers.

Highlights

Village chickens are poultry mostly owned by village communities in rural areas of Africa (Thekisoe, Mbati & Bisschop 2004) and other developing countries (Muchadeyi et al 2004; Muhiye 2007)
Village chicken production in South Africa is similar to most small-holder farming systems where the chickens are exposed to the harsh environmental and production challenges coupled with farmers having limited resources to manage their flocks (Acavomic et al 2005)
This study sampled from villages of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa, which are similar to villages in most African and other developing countries

Summary

Introduction

Village chickens are poultry mostly owned by village communities in rural areas of Africa (Thekisoe, Mbati & Bisschop 2004) and other developing countries (Muchadeyi et al 2004; Muhiye 2007) They play a vital role through their contribution to the socio-economic and cultural lives of small-holder farmers (Nyoni & Masika 2012; Van Marle-Köster et al 2008). Village chickens can be used as tokens of appreciation for services rendered and are often given to visitors as gifts (Kusina & Kusina 1999) Their role in national economies is through improved nutritional status and income of many small-holder farmers as well as landless and marginalised communities (Muchadeyi et al 2004; Tarwireyi & Fanadzo 2013). Parasite infestation contributes to poor production and can cause mortality in severe cases (Soulsby 1982)

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