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This survey was conducted to identify gastrointestinal parasite in adult dairy cattle and young calves in Telšiai district and the impact of infection on cattle farms. The study was carried out on 12 dairy cattle farms, where cows and young calves were grazing on pasture all grazing season. It was 103 calves and 130 dairy cattle faeces samples examined. To determine the level of contamination with gastrointestinal parasites, the Mc’Master modified technique was applied. Also larvae culture samples were prepared, developed larvae were collected with Baermann technique and examined under the microscope in order to identify the genus of nematodes. Examination of the faeces samples showed that the calves were mostly infected with strongyles and infection found in all samples (100 %), while the average of eggs per gram (EPG) was 74 eggs. In addition, a quarter of the samples were infected Nematodirus spp. and Trichuris spp. nematodes and Moniezia spp. cestodes eggs. Dairy cows were infected with strongyles – eggs found in 27 % of samples and average EPG was 7. Infection with Eimeria spp. protozoa was in 93 % calves and in 22 % dairy cows samples. Differentiation of L3 larvae showed that in both calves and dairy cows faeces Ostertagia spp. larvae were predominate. Also larvae of Cooperia spp., Oesophagostomum spp. and Trichostrongylus spp. were found. The comparative analysis showed that significantly greater numbers of young calves were infected, compared with dairy cows (p≤0,01). Abundance of calf infection with gastrointestinal nematodes was influenced by the high density of calves in grazing area unit (p≤0,05) and by the grazing in the same pasture the entire grazing season (p≤0,01). |
