Effects of lesser species of chicken eimeria ( E. hegani , E. mivati , E. praecox and E. mitis ) on body weight gain and spermatogenesis of broiler breeder males

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of the “so-called” lesser species of Eimeria (E. hegani, E. mivati E. praecox and E. mitis), on body weight gain, spermatogenesis and sperm density of 40-week-old Ross broiler breeder males. The laboratory strains of the lesser species of Eimeria used in this study were produced and propagated by standard techniques. The infected broiler breeder males received a pool of 2,000,000 sporulated oocysts each of four lesser species of Eimeria via crop intubation. Sperm production, semen density and body weights were monitored at D, D+5, D+7, and D+14 for each male. The experiment revealed that mixed infections by the lesser species of Eimeria depressed weight changes but not significantly (p>0.05) throughout the duration of the study. The infection equally did not affect sperm production significantly (p>0.05). Keywords : Lesser species, body weight gain, spermatogenesis, broiler breeder males