Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths parasites in chickens

The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of local chickens in Beed district Maharashtra India was studied using a total of 250 intestines of backyard chickens were collected from the chicken outlets of local poultry slaughter houses located in and around Beed district in maharashtraa The birds were sacrificed humanely and their oesophagus, crop, proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine and caecum examined for the presence of gastrointestinal helminths. Worms when present were isolated and identified using standard parasitological procedures. The study identified four species of cestodes namely Raillietinaechinobothridia, R. tetragona, R. cesticillus and Choanotaenia infundibulum and two species of nematodes namely, Ascaridia galli and Heterakisgallinarum. Results obtained showed 96.8 % prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in the birds with cestodes being the more prevalent class (70.4 %). Raillietinaspp was the most prevalent cestode encountered and A. galli the most prevalent nematode. Prevalence rates of infections recorded 14.4 % for nematode species, 26.4 % for cestodes and 56 % for mixed infections of nematodes and cestodes. It was concluded that local chickens are common in the area and could serve as a potential source of helminth infections to intensively managed birds in the study area.