Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Aloe chabaudii schonland juice as a potential substitute of sulphonamide drugs and to measure its effects when administered at different concentrations in the control of avian coccidiosis. 30 cobb and 500 broiler chickens were used for the experiment. The broilers were randomised into six groups of five birds each and the groups were assigned to six treatments in a Complete Randomised Design (CRD). Four of the groups were given any one of the following treatments, different concentrations of Aloe (weight/volume: 10%, 20% and 30%) and a sulphonamide. There was a control group which was not given a treatment and one cohort group which was neither infected nor treated. At two weeks of age, 25 of the birds were infected with coccidia via drinking water using infected chicken fecal matter, while the remaining five birds were left uninfected. Infection proceeded for 1 week and after the infection period, fecal oocysts were counted from each individual bird using the McMaster technique. Treatments started one day after the infection and continued for one week after 20 gram samples of fecal matter were taken from each bird per treatment and oocysts were counted. After oocyst counting, all birds were slaughtered and lesion scoring was done on the intestines using the Johnson and Reid technique. Data was analysed for oocysts count in different treatments, fecal egg count reduction, relative risk of coccidiosis and the effectiveness of Aloe concentrations as a substitute for a commercial sulphonamide. The results showed that the concentrations of Aloe used in the experiment were not effective as compared to the sulphonamide in controlling coccidiosis as the fecal egg reduction was below 90% for all concentrations. The relative risk of coccidiosis infection in the farm was found to be 100%, meaning that coccidiosis is a disease of economic importance at the farm. However, there was a reduction in the fecal oocyst count with increase in Aloe juice concentration to control coccidiosis, though this could not be compared to sulphonamide (ESB3) which was more effective (p 0.05). This study has shown that there is potential for use of Aloe chabaudii leaf gel as a chemotherapeutic though much research is needed to determine absolute concentrations which will make it comparable to commercially available drugs in terms of efficacy.
Highlights
Avian coccidiosis is among the most costly and widespread infectious diseases in the poultry industry [1]
ESB3 treatment was only one which had over 90% FERT percentage, it was the only one effective in disease control (Table 2)
The most possible reason for this could be that, the concentration levels of Aloe used in this experiment were not enough to conclude that A. chabaudii leaf gel could not reach an oocyst reduction level like that observed for ESB3
Summary
Avian coccidiosis is among the most costly and widespread infectious diseases in the poultry industry [1]. The land reform programme which started in the year of 2000 led to an increase in the number of small scale broiler farmers countrywide. Many of these farmers practice extensive to semi-extensive poultry production. This is comprised mainly of a wide range of free range and broiler chicken farming, where disease incidence of poultry coccidiosis has been on the rise [2]. The majority of resettled farmers still use primitive production structures such as poor poultry housing, and this coupled together with the use of untreated water from unprotected water sources such as dams, open wells and rivers increases the chance of incidences of diseases such as avian coccidiosis. Due to the liquidity challenges the country currently faces, resource-poor farmers are unable to purchase commercial drugs, and this coupled together with the closure of veterinary shops in communal and resettlement areas leads to challenges in the con-
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