SALAWU, Saheed Adekola and EMMANUEL, Adunoluwa Promise
Abstract
A cross-sectional survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminthes of local chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in Modakeke, Osun State, Nigeria between January and December 2022. One hundred and twenty chickens were bought from different markets within Modakeke, dissected and the gastrointestinal tract examined for helminthes in the laboratory. 100(83.3%) of the chickens was infected with at least one type of gastrointestinal helminthes. Seven species of gastrointestinal helminths which comprises three nematode species: Ascaridia galli (63.3%), Heterakis gallinarum (33.3%), and Capillaria spp. (16.7%); and four cestode species: Raillietina tetragona (53.3%), Raillietina echinobothridia (46.7%), Raillietina cesticillus (20.0%), and Choanotaenia infundibulum (33.3%) were recovered from the examined chickens. A. galli and R. tetragona are the most prevalent nematode and cestodes recovered with the prevalence of 63.3% and 53.30% respectively. A significantly higher prevalence of infection was observed among male chickens (93.3%) and the growers (5-15wks) (91.12%). Four (3.3%) of the examined chicken had single infection while 24(20.00%) of them had mixed infections. The small intestine had the highest infestation of gastrointestinal helminthes. The study concluded that the prevalence rate of parasitic helminthes among the sampled chickens was very high and in order to improve their productivity and overall health, a greater attention should be paid to their management.