McMaster (McM) method is one of the most widely used techniques for the assessment of faecal parasites shedding in veterinary practices because of its simplicity. However, due to its light sensitivity, recently, the Mini-FLOTAC (MF) has been introduced as a possible alternative for faecal worm egg counts. This study aims to compare the diagnosis performance of MF to McM technique. Faecal samples from 40 animals randomly selected in sheep, goats and rabbits' farms were collected and examined individually using MF and McM techniques. A statistical difference (p < 0.001) in strongylida egg counts in small ruminants and oocyst of Eimeria spp counts in rabbits using both techniques was observed. However, strongylida eggs per gram of feces in sheep (MF: 202.01 vs McM: 174.75) goat (MF: 147.36 vs McM: 143.75) and oocysts of Eimeria spp per gram of feces in rabbits (MF: 130.75 vs McM: 130.5) revealed no significant difference (p > 0.05). MF showed better diagnostic performance in term of the prevalence (MF: 32.5-100% vs McM: 7.5-70%) and the precision values (MF: 85.52-90.44% vs McM: 49.52-63.07%). This study demonstrated that MF appears to be the more reliable alternative technique for veterinary practices.
Small ruminants farming is a traditional activity mostly practiced by local populations in developing countries since several centuries. Nowadays, due to many biotic and climatic factors, it faces various problems which damage smallholders' income especially those related to gastrointestinal parasites. In opposite to the chemical drugs use in controlling those parasites, medicinal plants have been investigated with fewer side effects on both the meat quality and the environment. This current study aimed at reviewing Haemonchus contortus prevalence in small ruminants across the world and present medicinal plants that have been investigated in the last decades. H. contortus is identified as the most significant nematode parasite in small ruminants due to its high prevalence reported by many studies. Its presence in small ruminants results in a loss of feed absorption and disturbance of nutrient metabolism, which lead to poor performance and significant economic loss in the herds, especially in rural areas of developing countries. For the past decades, its control was mainly based on the use of chemical anthelmintics; whose use has been limited due to several factors like the irrational and misuse. Recently, the use of medicinal plants has been identified as alternatives methods of its control with conclusive results. Parts of plants or the whole plants of several plant species were reported to be relevant to control H. contortus infection in small ruminants such as:
Twenty four (24) dairy ewes at the 4th stage of lactation were used to assess the milk production and serum prolactin level of ewes treated with leaf’s powder of Spondias mombin. The lactating ewes were selected and divided into 4 groups of 6 ewes per group: control group (no fed powder of Spondias mombin), Galactin group (no fed powder of Spondias mombin but treated with lactogenic drug) and groups treated with powder of Spondias mombin (group single dose and group double dose). The parameters measured include daily milk production, body weight of lambs and ewes. The resulted outcomes indicate that ewes that received powder of S. mombin and Galactin produced more milk than controls. The average daily increases in milk production were 9.92%, 14.25% and 18.88% in single dose, double dose and Galactin groups, respectively compared to control group. Lamb weight gain was also significantly higher than that in the control group. The treatments did not influence body weight of ewe. The daily weight gain of 93.12; 97.47; 99.07; 86.76 g/day were found in single dose, double dose, Galactin and control groups, respectively. The results of the blood analysis of hormone showed that serum prolactin levels increased in the group treated with powder and Galactin compared to control group.
The use of antibiotics in human or veterinary therapy is followed by the appearance of bacteria resistance to these antibiotics. This is a serious problem because of the direct impact on therapeutic possibilities. This study aimed at evaluating the efficiency of a probiotic feed ingredient (Starter) on the growth performance of broiler (Hubbard) to allow a reduction of the use of antibiotics. The experimental design consists of four treatments with three replications: diets with 0%, 1.5%, 3% and 4.5% of the probiotic feed ingredient. Each replication consists of 18 broilers with an average live body weight of 43.04 ± 6.38 g. After seven (7) weeks of trial, chickens receiving the treatment .T1.5 had the best growth with an average weight of 984.22 ± 249.2 g, but with no significant difference (P> 0.05). In this treatment, their feed intake was the highest (51.38 g/bird/day) while the feed conversion rate turned out to be the lowest (6.67 g feed/g Live body weight). The highest value of carcass yield (76.1%) and sternum proportion (5.54%) were obtained in treatment T3. From the above results, we can state that the probiotic feed ingredient included at 1.5% and 3% improved growth performance of broilers. It could help to significantly improve the production performance of broilers if its probiotics properties are enhanced.
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