Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-qs9v7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-12T00:29:20.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

How effective is pre-release nematode control in farm-reared red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2007

D. Villanúa
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain:
L. Pérez-Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain:
O. Rodríguez
Affiliation:
EBRONATURA S.L., c/ General Aguilera 3, 13001 Ciudad Real, Spain
J. Viñuela
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain:
C. Gortázar*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain:
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: +34 426 29 54 51 E-mail: christian.gortazar@uclm.es

Abstract

Game bird farming is associated with high parasite levels that reduce farm productivity, reduce survival after releasing, and may pose a health risk for natural populations. The efficacy of albendazole (orally, 20 mg kg− 1) was evaluated in farmed red-legged partridges naturally infected with the nematodes Aonchotheca caudinflata and Heterakis gallinarum. In treated birds body condition improved, nematode egg deposition was reduced and the proportion of gravid A. caudinflata females was reduced, but not the overall worm burdens. Albendazole was found to be 36.8% and 17.1% effective against A. caudinflata and H. gallinarum, respectively. These results indicate that the anthelmintic treatment used normally in Spanish partridge farms is not effective enough to avoid the introduction of parasites into the field after release.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersson, S. (1992) Female preference for long tails in lekking Jackson's widowbirds: experimental evidence. Animal Behaviour 43, 379388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
APROCA (2004) Jornadas de sobre la cría de especies cinegéticas. Madrid, November 2004.Google Scholar
Kassai, T. (1998) Helmintologia veterinaria. 259 pp. Zaragoza, Spain, Acribia.Google Scholar
Kirsch, R. (1983) Treatment of nematodiasis in poultry and game birds with fenbendazole. Avian Diseases 28, 311318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehlhorn, H., Düwell, D. & Raether, W. (1992) Atlas de parasitología veterinaria. Spain, GRASS ediciones.Google Scholar
Millán, J., Gortázar, C., Buenestado, F.J., Rodriguez, P., Tortosa, F.S. & Villafuerte, R. (2003) Effects of a fiber-rich diet on physiology and survival of farm-reared red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 134, 85–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Millán, J., Gortázar, C. & Villafuerte, R. (2004) A comparison of the helminth faunas of wild and farm-reared red-legged partridges. Journal of Wildlife Management 68, 701707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reina, D., Anderson, L., Habela, M., Weatherley, A.J. & Navarrete, I. (2000) Efficacy of doramectin against naturally acquired nematode infection in Iberian swine. Veterinary Parasitology 89, 139–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, S.M., Kenny, J., Houston, A. & Hewitt, S.A. (1993) Efficacy, pharmacokinetics and effects on egg-laying and hatchability of two dose rates of in-feed fenbendazole for the treatment of Capillaria species infection in chickens. Veterinary Record 20, 519521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tompkins, D.M., Parish, D.M.B. & Hudson, P.J. (2002) Parasite-mediated competition among red-legged partridges and other lowland gamebirds. Journal of Wildlife Management 66, 445–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Villanúa, D., Pérez-Rodríguez, L., Gortázar, C., Höfle, U. & Viñuela, J. (2006) Avoiding bias in parasite excretion estimates: the effect of sampling time and type of faeces. Parasitology 133, 251–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed