Seasonal variations in the prevalence and intensities of infestation of phthirapteran ectoparasites of domestic fowl

Abstract

In the present paper an attempt has been made to observe the impact of four ecofactors (RH, Temperature, Heat index and Photoperiod) on the prevalence and infestation intensity of five phthirapteran species infesting domestic fowl (Lipeurus caponis, Lipeurus tropicalis, Menopon gallinae, Goniocotis gallinae, Goniodes dissimilis). By and large the ecofactor taken into consideration did not have significant impact on the prevalence. However the RH and photoperiod appeared to have influence on intensities of L. caponis and L. tropicalis which prefer wing feathers. On the other hand temperature and heat index seem to have influence on intensities of G. gallinae, G. dissimilis and M. gallinae which generally prefer body feathers of host bird.