Ectoparasitic fauna of poultry species in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

Ectoparasitic fauna of 397 conveniently sampled domestic birds consisting of 213 chickens, 128 turkeys, 21 ducks, 19 guinea fowls, 8 pigeons and 8 geese were investigated in Maiduguri, Borno State. A total of one hundred and fifty-two 152 (38.29%) birds were infested with one ectoparasitic species or the other comprising of 115 (54.00%) chickens, 33 (25.78%) turkeys, 1 (5.26%) guinea fowl and 3 (37.50%) pigeons. No infestation was encountered among geese and ducks examined. The infestation rate differed significantly based on sex and age (p<0.05), but not the management system. Similarly, the occurrence varied significantly (p<0.05) based on locations of sampling (p<0.00001) and species of poultry examined (p<0.000049). Furthermore, 116 (29.21%) of the total birds examined had a single infestation with either louse, tick or mite species, while 36(9.06%) birds had mixed infestation with species from two or more of these ectoparasitic groups. Among the parasites encountered, lice present on 146 (36.77%) birds were the most prevalent, followed by mites 28(7.05%) and ticks 15(3.78%). Nine different species of ectoparasites belonging to the orders Mallophaga and Acarina were identified in the study. Menopon gallinae, Lipeurus caponis, Menacanthus stramineus, Goniodes gigas, Goniocotes gallinae and Columbicola columbae were the lice identified, while Cnemidocoptes mutans and Ornithonyssus bursa were the only species of mite identified. The poultry tick, Argas persicus was the only tick species found. Conclusively, the study revealed a high but variable burden of ectoparasitic infestation among poultry species examined, and that ectoparasites are common in minor poultry species as they do occur in chickens under different management systems in the study area. The need to investigate the diverse effects of ectoparasitism on the different poultry species is suggested here.