Protozoal infections of young turkeys in the conditions of industrial farms

All-Russian Research Institute of Fundamental and Applied Parasitology of Animals and Plants – a branch of the Federal State Budgetary Research Center of All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine named after K.I. Scriabin and Ya.R. Kovalenko of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

^* Corresponding author: safiullin_r.t@mail.ru

Abstract

The article presents the results of monitoring of parasitic protozoa of young turkeys in industrial-type farms of the Central region of Russia. Fecal samples, scrapings from the floor and passages, and the contents of the gastrointestinal tract during slaughter were systematically examined in birds of different ages. The age and seasonal dynamics of their infection with eimeria, as well as contamination of environmental objects by protozoan oocysts, were established. At the same time, the following species were identified in turkeys: Eimeria meleagrimitis (80%), E. meleagridis (15%), E. adenoids (5%). The prevalence in males of 35-49 days old, and in females of 35-49-63 days old was the maximum and amounted to 30–45 and 5–30%, respectively. The obtained results should be used in the organization of therapeutic and preventive measures against parasitic protozoa of young turkeys.