Journal of World's Poultry Research

82-85

Authors: Oladele Omolade

The Nigerian Indigenous breeds of Chicken (NIC) have thrived in harsh tropical environment with little veterinary care and poor nutrition compared with the introduced exotic breeds which performs sub-optimally in the tropics. However, they receive little attention for commercial production in spite of low input required. A comparative assessment of cellular immune response of the indigenous and exotic breeds was carried out to provide scientific explanation for their hardy nature and justify production for economic purposes. Fifteen chickens from each of three indigenous breeds i.e. Frizzled- feathered, Naked-neck and Smooth-feathered, and 8 Isa Brown pullets were 10 weeks old and reared in separate cages. The chickens were stabilized and administered Newcastle Disease Vaccine (NDV), LaSota strain. At 14 and 16 weeks old, all breeds were administered NDV Komarov strain in Freund’s adjuvant and in PBS intramuscularly as sensitizing and challenge inoculants, respectively. They were bled for serum 5 days later and concentrations of Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were determined using competitive Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results showed that the Frizzled-feathered chickens had the highest concentration of IFNgamma (58±2.8 pg/ml) which was significantly higher than 49±3.2 pg/ml and 44±2.5 pg/ml recorded for Smooth-feathered and Isa brown breeds respectively. Also, concentration in Naked-neck breed was 54±2.9 pg/ml, which was significantly higher than Isa Brown. Isa Brown had the significantly lowest concentration. It was concluded that the three NIC studied, have inherent capacity to mount higher levels of cellular immune response compared with the exotic Isa brown, when challenged.

89-93

Authors: Omonona Abosede Olayemi , Afusat Jagun Jubril and Adewole Augustine Adekola

Village weavers (Ploceus cucullatus) are ubiquitous passerine birds found in Nigeria. Researches on avian haemoparasites in domestic and wild birds in Nigeria have been receiving considerable attention over the years. In recent studies, the commonly reported haemoparasites include Haemoproteus sp, Plasmodium sp., Leucocytozoon, Hepatozoon and nematode microfilariae. These haemoparasites have been associated with several pathologic changes and diseases in affected birds. However, there is dearth of information on the prevalence of haemoparasites associated with village weaver in Nigeria. This present study evaluated the prevalence of haemoparasites in village weavers birds found in Ibadan, Nigeria and the associated haematological changes. 30 weaver birds were captured from the suburb of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The buffy coat smears of the birds were made to ascertain the prevalence of haemoparasites using light microscopy to determine the morphological characteristics of the haemoparasites observed. The morphological characteristics of the haemoparasites observed were consistent with Haemoproteus spp., Leucocytozoon spp., Plasmodium spp., and microfilariae. Out of the total number of the village weavers sampled, 22 (73.33%) had one or more haemoparasites. Haemoproteus spp was observed in 19 (63.33%) birds, microfilariae was seen in 10 (33.33%) while 7 (23.33%) had Leucocytozoon spp with Plasmodium spp. in 5 (16.67%), being the least prevalent in this study. The co-infection with different haemoparasites was significant (p <0.05) which indicated an increased relative risk of a superimposed haemoparasite infection in already infected birds. The erythrocyte parameters and indices (PCV, RBC, MCV, MCH and MCHC) were slightly higher in the uninfected weaver birds than in the haemoparasite infected population.