Abstract
During this one year study, blood and fecal samples of doves (Zenaida asiatica), ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), pigeons (Columba livia), partridges (Alectoris chukar), turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) and goose (Chen caerulescens) were collected to assess the parasitic prevalence in these birds. The birds were kept at Avian Conservation and Research Center, Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. All these avian species were kept in separate cages and their entire body was inspected on regularly basis to record external parasites. For internal parasites, 100 blood and 100 fecal samples for each species were analyzed. During present study, two species of ectoparasites i.e. fowl ticks (Args persicus) and mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) while 17 species of endoparasites; three from blood and 14 from fecal samples were identified. Prevalence of blood parasites was Plasmodium juxtanucleare 29.3%, Aegyptinella pullorum 15% and Leucoctoyzoon simond 13%. Parasitic species recorded from fecal samples included 6 species of nematodes viz. Syngamus trachea with parasitic prevalence of 50%, Capillaria anatis 40%, Capillaria annulata 37.5%, Heterakis gallinarum 28.3%, Ascardia galli 24% and Allodpa suctoria 2%. Similarly, two species of trematodes viz. Prosthogonimus ovatus having parasitic prevalence of 12.1% and Prosthogonimus macrorchis 9.1% were also recorded from fecal samples of the birds. Single cestode species Raillietina echinobothrida having parasitic prevalence of 27% and 3 protozoan species i.e. Eimeria maxima having prevalence 20.1%, Histomonas meleagridis 8% and Giardia lamblia 5.3% were recorded. In our recommendation, proper medication and sanitation of the bird's houses and cages is recommended to avoid parasites.
Highlights
Commercial farmers prefer confined facilities for birds as density of the birds is higher and these facilities aid to boost their populations
Blood parasites viz. Plasmodium spp. and Leukocytozoon spp. are common in feral as well as domestic birds which result in higher mortalities (Aguirre et al, 1986)
Present one year study was conducted to check the parasitic prevalence in doves (Zenaida asiatica), ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), pigeons (Columba livia), partridges (Alectoris chukar), turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) and goose (Chen caerulescens) was conducted at Avian Conservation and Research Center, Department of Wildlife and Ecology, C-Block, Ravi Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
Summary
Commercial farmers prefer confined facilities for birds as density of the birds is higher and these facilities aid to boost their populations. Higher densities of the birds result in transmission of parasitic agents (Krystianiak et al, 2007) and pathogenic microbes that hinder growth and egg production (Dranzoa et al, 1999). The soil serves as reservoir for larval insects and helminthes These factors clearly reflect the presence of wide range of parasites in birds kept in free-range rearing facilities and in turn result in low production (Permin et al, 1997). Poor families keep many avian species as domestic poultry and use these birds as source of food and recreation. Understanding parasitic prevalence in poultry birds will aid in developing strategies to manage avian population (Sol and Lefebvre, 2000; Adriano and Cordeiro, 2001). Present study was planned to study the parasitic prevalence in some captive avian species
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