Gastrointestinal Nematodes Infection of Primiparous and Multiparous Ewe in Different Reproductive Stages

This study was motivated by the lack of information about the differences between primiparous and multiparous ewes with regard to their susceptibility to parasitism by gastrointestinal nematodes during different reproductive stages (mating, pregnancy and lactation). The experiment was conducted from November of 2010 to July of 2011, and 20 ewes were used; 10 multiparous and 10 primiparous. Every 14 days the ewes were brought to the management yard for assessment of the FAMACHA® degree, feces collection (for nematode fecal egg counts (FEC) and composite fecal cultures) and blood collection for determination of packed cell volume (PCV). A completely randomized design was adopted in a 2 x 3 factorial design (2 animals categories and 3 reproductive stages), and means were compared by the Tukey test, at 0.05 of probability. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between ewes for the variables FEC and PCV were observed. Between the reproductive stages there were differences (P < 0.05) for the variables FEC, FAMACHA® and PCV, but no interaction was observed (P > 0.05) between animal category and reproductive stage. The most common larvae observed were Haemonchus spp. (third stage). Primiparous ewes had a higher parasite load when compared to multiparous ewes, suggesting that this category of animal requires a different management peripartum.