Ciência Animal Brasileira (Dec 2010)
VERMINOSE EM CAPRINOS E OVINOS MANTIDOS EM PASTAGENS DE Panicum maximum Jacq. NO PERÍODO CHUVOSO DO ANO
Abstract
The objective of this work was to evaluate the worm disease on goats and sheep kept on Panicum maximum Jacq. pastures, in the rainy season of the year. The dry matter density (DM) of different layers (0-15, 15-30 and above 30 cm) of Panicum maximum Jacq. pastures, and the forage contamination by gastrintestinal nematode infective larvae (L3) were quantified. Forty animals were submitted monthly to coproparasitological examinations (ECG and coproculture) during the rainy season. The experiment was carried out in Barreiras-Bahia-Brazil, in a split-plot design, with 10 replications on pastures and 20 replications on animals, from October of 2003 to March of 2004, and samples were taken from December to February. The number of infective larvae per kg/DM did not change with the grass layer, with average of 22.2 L3/kg DM. On the forage, Haemonchus sp. and Trichostrongylus sp. L3 larvae were indentified, reflecting the coproculture results. Goats showed higher ECG counting (2602) than Sheep (865), demanding more sanitary care.