Summary
Small ruminants contribute significantly to the meat and milk production of the region. Intestinal parasites not only cause mortality of the livestock but also reduce their productivity and increase the proportion of carcasses condemned at the abattoirs. These losses have major impacts on economy of the small farmers and their families. Control of parasitic infections could until recently be controlled by chemical anthelmintics but resistance is now common and these substances are expensive.
This project examined the potential for using naturally-occurring constituents of certain forage plants to reduce the impact of parasitic infections.
The Wattle Tannin drench showed significant anthelmintic activity against parasitic nematodes of sheep raised in a tropical environment. When similar studies were conducted previously (Max et al., 2003) with goats little anthelmintic activity was noted. Further on-farm work is required to validate the use of tannin preparations in reducing nematode infections of sheep and other domestic ruminants known to have no tannin-neutralising mechanism, for example cattle. The practical implication of these observations on the effect of tannins on nematodes of small ruminants is that tannin preparations, which are cheap and readily available in the tropics, could be used to supplement the use of expensive drugs to control intestinal nematode infections in sheep.
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| Primary Relevance |
Low - High |
| Feeding and Nutrition |
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| Animal Health |
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| Commodities and Markets |
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| Other Husbandry |
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| Policy Relevance |
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