Effects of anthelmintic treatment and feed supplementation on grazing Tuliweaner steers naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes

A study was carried out to determine the epidemiology of gastrointestinal n ematodes in indigenous Tuli cattle and the effect of dietary protein supple mentation and anthelmintic treatment on productivity in young growing cattl e. Forty steers with an average age of 18 months were divided into 4 groups ; 1) fenbendazole (slow release bolus) and cottonseed meal (FCSM group), 2) fenbendazole (FBZ group), 3) cottonseed meal (CSM group) and 4) control (n o cottonseed meal and no fenbendazole) (control group). Performance paramet ers measured included worm eggs per gram of faeces (EPG), packed cell volum e (PCV), albumin and live-weight gain. Results showed that faecal worm egg counts were lower and PCV was higher in the FCSM and FBZ groups than in the CSM and control groups (P < 0.01). Weight gains were higher in the CSM and FCSM groups than in the FBZ and control groups (P < 0.05). The cost benefi ts of anthelmintic treatment and dietary supplementation were apparent in t his study. The improved growth performance of the FCSM, FBZ and CSM groups reflected a financial gain over the controls on termination of the study. T he dominant genera of gastrointestinal nematodes on faecal culture, pasture larval counts and necropsy were Cooperia and Haemonchus. The incidences of Trichostrongylus, Oesophagostomum and Bunostomum were low.