Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effect of Providing Feed Supplementation and Anthelmintic to Donkeys during Late Pregnancy and Lactation on Live Weight and Survival of Dams and Their Foals in Central Ethiopia

  • Published:
Tropical Animal Health and Production Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Anthelmintic treatment (A), feed supplementation (F), anthelmintic and feed supplementation (A + F) or traditional management (Control) was given to 166 pregnant female donkeys in three localities (Holetta, Debre Zeit and Adami Tulu) in Ethiopia during an on-farm study. Treatments started during the last trimester of pregnancy and continued until 6 months after parturition when the foals were weaned. The same treatments were administered to foals once they reached 1 month of age. Live weights of adults and foals were measured throughout the study along with work output of adult donkeys and survival to weaning of the foals. Faecal worm egg counts (FEC) and blood packed cell volumes (PCV) were recorded monthly. When applied alone, anthelmintic treatment (A) or feed supplementation (F) had no significant effect on live weight gain or foal survival. However, when combined, anthelmintic and feed supplementation (A + F) significantly (p < 0.05) improved both live weight gain in adults and foals and foal survival. Workout was not affected by any of the treatments. Treatments A and A+F resulted in a highly significant (p<0.001) reduction in FEC in all three localities during the course of study and for at least 6 months after the last dose of anthelmintic in one of the study areas (Holetta). None of the treatments had any significant effect on PCV. Donkey owners in Ethiopia should be encouraged to adopt both anthelmintic treatment and feed supplementation if they expect tangible benefits in animal performance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

A:

anthelmintic treatment

A + F:

anthelmintic and feed supplementation

C:

control (traditional practice)

CP:

crude protein

DM:

dry matter

e.p.g.:

eggs per gram of faeces

F:

feed supplementation

FEC:

faecal egg count

ME:

metabolizable energy

PCV:

packed cell volume

References

  • Agajie, T., Tamirat, D., Pearson, R.A. and Temesgen, T., 2000. Socio-economic circumstances of donkey use and management in the rural and urban areas of central parts of Ethiopia. In: D. Smith, T. Agajie and L. More (eds), Proceedings of a Workshop on Promoting Peri-Urban Livelihoods Through Better Donkey Welfare, October 2000, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, 16–28

  • SAS, 1988. SAS/STAT User's Guide, (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, 37–56

  • Blood, D. and Radostits, O.M., 1989. Veterinary Medicine. A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses, (Bailliere Tindall, London), 67

    Google Scholar 

  • Coop, R.L. and Kyriazakis, I., 1999. Nutrition-parasite interaction. Veterinary Parasitology, 84, 187–204

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coop, R.L. and Kyriazakis, I., 2001. Influence of host nutrition on the development and consequences of nematode parasitism in ruminants. Trends in Parasitology, 17, 325–330

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feseha, G., Alemu, G.W., Firew, K., Abule, I. and Ketema, Y., 1997. An overview of donkey utilización and management in Ethiopia. In: A TNESA Workshop on Improving Donkey UtilizaciÓN and Management, 5–9 May 1997, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, 6–13

  • Fesseha, G., 1993. Use of equines in Ethiopia. In: Proceedings of the Fourth National Livestock Improvement Conference, (Addis Ababa, 13–15 November 1991), 51–58

  • Fowler, J., 1989. Medical. In: E. Svendsen (ed.), The Professional Handbook of the Donkey, (The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth), 101–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassai, T., 1999. Veterinary Helminthology, (Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, London), 156–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthee, S., Krecek, R.C., Milne, S.A., Boshoff, M. and Guthrie, A.J., 2002. Impact of management interventions on helminth levels, and body and blood measurements in working donkeys in South Africa. Veterinary Parasitology, 107, 103–113

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mekonnen, T., 1989. Rural transport systems in Ethiopia. In: Proceedings of a National Workshop on Food Strategies for Ethiopia, (Alemaya University of Agriculture, 8–12 December 1986), 13–19

  • Mulugeta, W., 1986. Transport and rural development. In: Proceedings of a National Workshop on Food Strategies for Ethiopia, (Alemaya University of Agriculture, 8–12 December 1986), 157–182

  • Pearson, R.A., Dijkman, J.T., Krecek, R.C. and Wright, P., 1998. Effect of density and weight of load on the energy cost of carrying loads by donkeys and ponies. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 30, 67–78

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poppi, D.P., 1986. Nitrogen transactions in the digestive tract of lambs exposed to the internal parasite Trichostrongylus colubriformis. British Journal of Nutrition, 55, 543–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, V., Marovanidze, K. and Nyathi, P., 1991. The use of donkeys as draught animals relative to bovines in the communal farming sector of Zimbabwe. In: D. Fielding and R.A. Pearson (ed.), Donkeys, Mules and Horses in Tropical Agricultural Development, (CTVM, University of Edinburgh), 231–239

  • Smith, D.G., Agajie, T. and More, L., 2000. Alleviating Poverty in Peri-urban Ethiopia by Improving the Health, Welfare and Management of Donkeys, (CTVM, Edinburgh)

  • Soulsby, E., 1982. Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domestic Animals, 7th edn, (Bailliere Tindall, London), 234–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, A.R. and Coop, R.L., 2001. Interaction between nutrition and gastrointestinal parasitism in sheep. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 49, 222–226

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, D., Krecek, R.C., Wells, M., Guthrie, A.J. and Lourens, J.C., 1998. Helminth levels of working donkeys kept under different management systems in the Moretele 1 district of the North-West Province, South Africa. Veterinary Parasitology, 77, 163–177

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, R.T., 1991. Equines in Ethiopia. In: D. Fielding and R.A. Pearson (eds), Donkeys, Mules and Horses in Tropical Agricultural Development, (CTVM, University of Edinburgh), 33–47

  • Yu, F., Bruce, L., Calder, A., Milne, E., Coop, R.L., Jackson, F. and MacRae, J., 2000. Subclinical infection with the nematode Trichostrongylus colubriformis increases gastrointestinal tract leucine metabolism and reduces availability of leucine for other tissues. Journal of Animal Science, 78, 380–390

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organisation, Holetta Research Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    A. Mengistu, S. Yoseph, W. Zewdie, W. G. Kassahun, B. Taye & T. Firew

  2. Department of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, Scotland, UK

    D. G. Smith

  3. Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Adami Tulu, Zway, Ethiopia

    T. Nega

Authors
  1. A. Mengistu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. G. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Yoseph
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. T. Nega
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. W. Zewdie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. W. G. Kassahun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. B. Taye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. T. Firew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. G. Smith.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mengistu, A., Smith, D.G., Yoseph, S. et al. The Effect of Providing Feed Supplementation and Anthelmintic to Donkeys during Late Pregnancy and Lactation on Live Weight and Survival of Dams and Their Foals in Central Ethiopia. Trop Anim Health Prod 37 (Suppl 1), 21–33 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-005-9003-4

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-005-9003-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation