The effect of three planes of nutrition on natural coccidial infections in Awassi sheep yearlings.
Faecal samples from three groups of yearling Awassi sheep fed three different nutritional planes were taken at 2-week intervals over a period of 3 months. Eimerian oocysts were found in 252 (80%) of the 315 samples collected. The species of Eimeria were identified and 30.2% of the samples contained three or four species, 27.3% had two species and 22.2% had one species. The prevalences in decreasing order were: E. pallida (37.1%); E. parva (28.9%); E. crandallis (17.8%); E. marsica (15.6%); E. bakuensis (syn. E. ovina) (13.7%); E. ovinoidalis (11.4%); E. intricata (11.1%); E. ahsata (9.2%); E. faurei (7.0%); E. granulosa (4.4%). The prevalence of E. bakuensis was significantly (P less than 0.05) higher in sheep fed the high and moderate planes of nutrition, while the prevalence of E. faurei was significantly (P less than 0.05) lower in sheep fed on the moderate plane. The numbers of E. marsica were also significantly higher (P less than 0.05) than other Eimeria species in the moderate plane group.
Abo-Shehada
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Department of Allied Health Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid.
Muwalla
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MM
D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004539:Eimeria; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005527:Food, Fortified; D011897:Random Allocation; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*