Performance of Sokoto Gudali heifers under different tick control measures in Ibadan

Abstract

In a study conducted to investigate the effects of regular application of cypermethrin on animal or pasture, sixteen Sokoto Gudali heifers were subjected to the following treatments: no treatment (NT); treatment on animal (TA); treatment on pasture (TP) and; treatment on animal and pasture (TAP) using a completely randomized design. Cypermethrin solution was sprayed on animals or pasture at 21-day intervals. There were significant reductions in tick count and babesia infection in cattle with application of cypermethrin on animal or pasture. Tick count was 27, 8, 12, and 3 per animal for NT, TA, TP and TAP respectively. Babesia parasite was not noticeable in the blood of heifers by the third week of treatment in TAP and sixth week in TA and TP. Animals in NT (control) were infected with babesia parasites throughout the period of study. The erythrocyte count (RBC) for cattle in this study was 10.5, 10.8, 10.8 and 11.7 × 10¹²/L for NT, TA, TP and TAP respectively, showing that health status of cattle improved with application of acaricide. Dry matter intake (DMI) of cattle increased from 1.98 to 3.75 % of body weight (BW) while growth rate of heifers increased from 0.30 to 0.78 kg/day when animal and pasture were treated with cypermethrin. These results show that health and performance of animals improved when tick control measures formed part of routine management practices for zebu heifers in tick infested areas.