Effects of gastrointestinal helminth infections and plane of nutrition on the health and productivity of F1 (West African Dwarf × Sahelian) goat crosses in The Gambia

A two by two factorial design including natural helminth infections (dewormed ‘D’ or not dewormed ‘ND’) and different levels of diet (basal ‘B’ or basal diet plus supplement ‘S’) was used to assess the effect of helminth infections and plane of nutrition on health and productivity of F1 (West African Dwarf (WAD) × Sahelian) crosses. The pasture composed the basal diet and supplemented animals received cottonseed and rice bran. Feed composition analysis revealed that the pasture did not provide sufficient nutrients for reproduction requirements. Feed supplementation had a significant effect on weight gain of does during pregnancy and lactation, and milk off-take was significantly higher in supplemented does compared to non-supplemented ones (31.3±2.5 l versus 17.7±2.5 l respectively,P < 0.01). A peri-parturient rise in strongyle egg output was noted, and diet supplementation tended to reduce faecal egg count and to increase packed cell volume (PCV), mainly during the dry season. Deworming had a significant effect on red blood cell (RBC) count, PCV and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mainly during the period of peak strongyle egg output (season × deworming: P < 0.001 for RBC and PCV and P < 0.05 for Hb). Helminth infections combined with a basal diet seriously affected weight gain but the interaction of deworming and diet was not significant. In groups receiving the basal diet, dewormed animals had a significantly higher milk yield than those that were not dewormed (23.5 ± 3.3 l versus 12.0 ± 3.7 l, respectively; interaction diet × deworming: P < 0.05). The higher daily weight gains of offspring born from dewormed does might be explained by the fact that, in addition to the effect of deworming on milk yield in animals receiving basal diet, the kids were less exposed to helminth eggs, whereas does that were not dewormed constituted a greater source of helminth infection for their kids. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.