Prevalence and Economic Significance of Ectoparasites Infestation in Village Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in Gombe, Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

A cross sectional study was conducted from August 2014 to January 2015 to identify the prevalence of ectoparasites of village chickens and its associated economic significance in Gombe, Northeastern Nigeria. A total of 1025 village chickens were examined out of which 90.7% were infested with one or more ectoparasites species. Four types of ectoparasites genera were encountered in this study, 17.0% of the total chickens examined were infested with only one genera while 73.9% were infested with two or more different genera. Among the ectoparasites encountered, lice infestation (85.8%) was the most prevalent followed by mite (70.4%), Flea (27.3%) and tick (6.2%) in descending order of prevalent. Ten different species of ectoparasites, namely Menopon gallinae, Lipeurus caponis, Goniodes gigas, Cnemidocoptes mutans, Dermanyssus gallinae, Epidermoptes species, Laminosioptes cysticola, Megninia species, Echidnophaga gallinacean and Argas persicus were identified in the study. Menopon gallinae (50%) was most frequently encountered while Megninia species (2.7%) was least prevalent. The findings of this study showed that ectoparasites infestations are highly prevalent among village chicken flocks, which may likely affect their optimum productivity. This may be associated with inadequate husbandry systems, poor hygiene practice, inadequate control and preventive measures among others. Therefore, routine prevention and control of ectoparasites should be encouraged in the study area. Moreover, campaigns to create awareness and educate poultry farmers on the economic significance of ectoparasitism in village chickens productivity should be organized in Gombe State.