Identification of the main intestinal helminths of local breed chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus Linnaeus, 1758) reared in traditional mode in the Oran region

Abstract

Summary In order to gain a better etiological and epidemiological knowledge of the parasitic diseases of local breed chickens reared in extensive (traditional) mode, a study was carried out in the Oran region during the periods from February 2020 to April 2020. Ten chickens were examined by the helminthologic autopsy method to identify parasitic helminths in the digestive tract. Four species of helminths have been identified: two species of nematodes: Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum and two species of cestodes: Raillietina cesticillus and Raillietina tetragona. Six chickens were carriers of the parasites, for an overall level of infestation of 60 % with an average infestation of 7 parasites per chicken. The rate of parasitism and infestation varied from species to species, Heterakis gallinarum being the most dominant species. The estimate of the infestation rate by each group shows a predominance of nematodes with 62 parasites (88.5 %) compared to cestodes (8 parasites) with a significantly higher difference (P <0.05). The results obtained show that chickens of the local Gallus gallus domesticus breed in the Oran region are heavily infested by parasites including Heterakis gallinarum, the predominant species.