Prevalence of Haemoparasites in Chickens Slaughtered at a Live Bird Market in Samaru Zaria, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of haemoparasites in chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) slaughtered at the Samaru Live Bird  market of Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. A total of 100 blood samples were collected from male and female chickens at the  point of slaughter. The samples were collected in heparinized sample bottles and transported to the Veterinary Protozoology Laboratory of the Faculty of  Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria for analysis. Out of the 100 chickens sampled, 51% were males while the remaining 49% were  females. Microscopic examination of the Giemsa-stained thin blood smear revealed an overall prevalence of haemoparasites to be 81%. Forty-nine  (49%) percent of these were plasmodium species, while 27%, 21% and 3% of the haemoparasites detected were Aegyptianella, Haemoproteus and  Leucocytozoon species respectively. With respect to sex, the prevalence was higher in cocks (55%) than in hens (45%). More studies are needed to  evaluate the prevalence of haemoparasites of chickens in different seasons of the year with the view of providing information that will enhance  productivity in the poultry industry.