Prevalence of Bird Louse, Menacanthus Cornutus (Pthiraptera: Amblycera) in four selected Poultry Farms in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Study on the prevalence of bird lice in four selected farms in Kano metropolis was conducted to determine the lice species richness, lice abundance and percent prevalence in the four poultry farms. Two hundred and forty (240) birds were examined from four poultry farms within Kano in Tofa, Fagge, Brigade and Gwarzo area respectively, during the month of February-March, 2013. The average temperature of the study sites ranged from 26^oC to 33^oC with 60-70% relative humidity. Birds were randomly picked and viewed under day light with the aid of hand lens and dissecting forceps to facilitate collections. The louse prevalence and mean abundance varied significantly (P<0.001) among the four Poultry farms examined with Menacanthus cornutus having 85.5% was more prevalent than Goniodes gigas (14.5%). All the farms examined harbored lice  with  Brigade poultry farm having the highest prevalence of lice with 95% incidence. Age of birds, availability of birds per space and frequency of litter change were contributing parameters to the prevalence of Menacanthus cornutus. The present study suggests that more research should be done on the work with focus on managerial practice for effective suppression of its incidence.

Keywords: Bird Louse, Kano Sub-urb areas, Menacanthus cornutus, Poultry, Prevalence