HAEMATOLOGY AND PARASITIC GASTROINTESTINAL INFESTATIONS OF DOMESTIC PIGEONS (Columba livia domestica)

Résumé

A cross sectional study was carried out on domestic pigeons in Ingawa Local Government Area of Katsina State
with the sole aim of studying blood profile of these domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in the event of
parasitic gastrointestinal infestation. A total of 55 domestic pigeons were randomly sampled across the LGA
using table of random numbers. The pigeons were categorized into young, grower and adult. Blood and faecal
samples were collected for haematology and parasitic screening respectively. Data was analyzed using Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA). Statistical significance of analyzed parameters was considered at P≤0.05. Adult group
of pigeon had the highest prevalence of 47% with corresponding high eosinophilia. Also, marked differences in
Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and total protein were significantly associated with high prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites. This study was able to establish variation in blood parameters of pigeons in the advent
of parasitic gastrointestinal infestation.