Benefits of urea-molasses block supplementation and symptomatic and tactical anthelmintic treatments of communally grazed indigenous goats in the Bulwer area, Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
This study was carried out with the cooperation of farmers owning communally grazed indigenous goats in southwestern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, where farmers had identified poor reproductive performance in their herds as one of their major problems. The aim was to quantify the effects of 3 interventions and the interaction between these interventions on goat productivity and gastrointestinal nematode infection. The interventions were: urea-molasses block supplementation during the dry winter seasons of 2004 and 2005, tactical anthelmintic treatment with ivermectin (400 microg/kg) during the wet summer period (on 3 January 2005) and symptomatic treatment with ivermectin (400 microg/kg) of all goats judged anaemic throughout the entire study period. The FAMACHA system was used as a gauge of anaemia. It was noted that goats considered anaemic tended to remain so throughout the study period. The tactical anthelmintic treatment was effective as it markedly reduced (P = 0.066) the summer peak in faecal egg counts and is therefore recommended. By contrast, while the urea-molasses block supplementation appeared to reduce the faecal egg counts immediately following the 2004 supplementation (P < 0.05), this did not hold true in 2005. Interestingly, in the tactically treated anaemic goats, the improvement in the number of kids suckled per doe year-on-year tended to be greater than in the non-anaemic goats. It is considered that the routine symptomatic treatment of anaemic goats may have been a key factor. More detailed investigations into the routine symptomatic treatment of anaemic goats are therefore recommended.
Vatta
A F
AF
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X05, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa. vattaa@arc.agric.za
de Villiers
J F
JF
Gumede
S A
SA
Krecek
R C
RC
Mapeyi
N P
NP
Pearson
R A
RA
Smith
M F
MF
Stenson
M O
MO
Harrison
L J S
LJ
D000740:Anemia / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006041:Goats / Q000502:physiology*; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007559:Ivermectin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008965:Molasses; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary; D012621:Seasons; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014508:Urea / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015430:Weight Gain
D000871:Anthelmintics; D007559:Ivermectin; D014508:Urea