Abstract:
The presence of gastrointestinal parasites in Tswana kids ( n = 7) aged
1-3 weeks was studied for a period of 6 months at the Botswana College
of Agriculture. The aims of this study were to find the time when they
first contracted internal parasite infections, as well as to determine the
severity of the infections and also its relation to production
indicators (body mass and packed cell volume) of the kids as they grew
older. The results indicate that they contracted coccidial and roundworm
infections at approximately one month of age or immediately thereafter.
The most prevalent internal parasite was coccidia, which occurred
throughout the study period, followed by roundworms, and the least was
the tapeworm, Moniezia expansa. Generally, the infection levels of all
internal parasites were lower than the critical mean log (faecal
oocyst/egg count + 1) of 3.3 inferred to cause reduced production in
small stock. The correlation coefficients were all positive; 0.4-0.9 for
individual internal parasites and production indicators, indicating that
these internal parasites did not have any adverse effects on production.
It was concluded that there was no need to treat kids of this age group
for internal parasites.
