Abstract
Anthelmintic drugs have been used strategically in livestock reared in the tropics. These drugs have been used in the treatment of endoparasitism which have resulted in an increase in the animals' performance. The agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) is a neo-tropical rodent with the potential for domestication and has been farmed intensively in Trinidad. However, the objective of this research was to investigate the effect of anthelmintic use of the growth performance of the agouti. In searching the literature, it was found that this type of study on the agouti has not been done. In this experiment fourteen weaned agoutis weighing 1kg were divided into two groups randomly. The first group (T1) was not given any anthelmintic treatment but the second group (T2) was treated with Endovet Ces® subcutaneously every three months. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the two groups in the carcass weight, weight gain, dressing percentage (hot and cold), heart, lungs, skin, head and feet. However, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was seen between groups in the weight of liver and pluck. To the authors knowledge this is the first time that carcass parameters has been presented in literature. The live weight of the animals at the end of the experiment ranged from 2.4 kg to 2.6 kg and animals had a dressing percentage of 57% to 55%. The results are suggestive that the use of anthelmintic drugs in agoutis reared intensively had no significant effect on weight gain and dressing percentage.
Highlights
Neotropical animals with the potential for domestication are an important food source for rural communities They provide a level of food security and hunger reduction in rural areas (Brown-Uddenberg et al, 2004; Nunes et al, 2019). Brown-Uddenberg et al (2004) named the agouti (D. leporina) as one of several neo-tropical animals with the potential for domestication
The ability of the non-treated group to perform as well as the treated group proposes that the agouti may have an inherent ability in handling endoparasites of the gastrointestinal tract. These results showed that anthelmintics were not required in the intensive production of the agouti as has been seen in domesticated livestock reared in the neo-tropics
Deworming weaned agoutis that were intensively reared had no significant effect on the growth, dressing percentage, weight of the carcass, kidneys, head, feet, heart, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and skin
Summary
Neotropical animals with the potential for domestication are an important food source for rural communities They provide a level of food security and hunger reduction in rural areas (Brown-Uddenberg et al, 2004; Nunes et al, 2019). Brown-Uddenberg et al (2004) named the agouti (D. leporina) as one of several neo-tropical animals with the potential for domestication. Brown-Uddenberg et al (2004) named the agouti (D. leporina) as one of several neo-tropical animals with the potential for domestication. The farming of the agouti is one method of ex situ conservation These animals were termed micro-livestock or mini-livestock (NRC 1991, Hardouin et al, 2003) and can be reared intensively to provide commodities (meat, skin, hides) which can be utilized by humanity. Animals present in the first category consists of domesticated animals (cattle, sheep, goat, chickens, horses) that were introduced in the Neo-tropics (Jones and Garcia, 2018a). The second category consists of domesticated Neo-tropical animals (alpacas, vicunas, ducks, llamas, chinchillas, guinea pigs) (Jones and Garcia, 2019). The third category is non-domestic neo-tropical animals (Jones et al, 2019c). The agouti (D. leporina) resides within the category of non-domesticated neotropical animals
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