PREDATION OF LIVESTOCK TICKS BY CHICKENS AS A TICK-CONTROL METHOD IN A RESOURCE-POOR URBAN-ENVIRONMENT

The possible use of chickens as predators of livestock ticks was studi ed. Chickens were allowed to scavenge for 3 h among tick-infested catt le in a typical township backyard during the milking period. Boophilus decoloratus, Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, Rhipicephalus evertsi evert si and Otobius megnini were recovered from the crops and gizzards at n ecropsy. The numbers of ticks ingested ranged from 0-128, with an aver age of 28,81 (+/- 8,42) per chicken. This study has confirmed that chi ckens are natural predators of livestock ticks and that chickens can b e used as part of an integrated tick control plan in urban cattle-mana gement systems in resource-poor communities in South Africa.