Influence of intensive rearing, continuous and rotational grazing systems of management on parasitic load of lambs

Research (Published online: 07-08-2019)

3. Influence of intensive rearing, continuous and rotational grazing systems of management on parasitic load of lambs

M. S. Ram Prasad, S. Meenakshi Sundaram, P. Tensingh Gnanaraj, C. Bandeswaran, T. J. Harikrishnan, T. Sivakumar, and P. Azhahiannambi

Veterinary World, 12(8): 1188-1194

ABSTRACT

Aim: A trial was conducted to assess the influence of parasitic load on the lambs reared under the intensive system, continuous grazing, and rotational grazing systems of management.

Materials and Methods: A total of thirty numbers of the undetermined breed of ewe lambs around 4-5 months of age were randomly selected and allotted to three treatment groups: T1 (intensive system - control), T2 (rotational grazing), and T3 (continuous grazing). The T1 group lambs were raised under a stall-fed system of management, the T2 group lambs were grazed under rotational grazing strategy in four paddocks of plot-A, while the T3 group lambs were continuously grazed in plot-B.

Results: At the end of the study, there was a highly significant difference (p=0.01) in the fortnightly strongyle egg count per gram (EPG) of feces among the lambs pertaining to the three treatment groups; the lambs in T3 had a higher strongyle EPG compared to T2 lambs. With regard to the overall reduction in EPG from the initial count, lambs under rotational grazing showed the maximum decrease of 54.52% compared to lambs under T3 (continuous grazing). There was a strong positive correlation noticed between the mean temperature of the day at each fortnight and the subsequent EPG at each fortnight with R2=0.87. There was a strong positive correlation noticed between mean FAMACHA® scores and the EPG with R2=0.84, R2=0.83, and R2=0.83 for T1, T2, and T3, respectively.

Conclusion: The grazing management with pasture rotation should be considered as a viable option for sustainable parasitic control in case of grazing-dependent livestock husbandry in India.