Abstract

Internal parasites can reduce animal performance (Moss & Vlassoff, 1993) and lungworm has been known to cause death in young deer (Mackintosh et al., 1984). Increasing numbers of drench resistant parasite populations being found on farms throughout New Zealand (Sangster, 1999) and pressure from consumers to reduce anthelmintic input for fear of residues in pastoral-based food products (Williams, 1997), signifies a need to find alternative methods of internal parasite control. Hoskin et al. (1999) found that undrenched weaner deer grazed on chicory did not have impaired growth rates and faecal egg counts were lower compared to similar animals grazed on perennial ryegrass/white clover pastures. This suggests that chicory has the potential to be used in farming systems to reduce the negative impact of internal parasites. This study looked at the viability of internal parasites that had travelled through the digestive tracts of deer grazing chicory (Cichorium intybus) or perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens)- dominant pasture. The hatching ability of gastrointestinal nematode eggs, the development of gastrointestinal nematode and lungworm larvae and the motility of L1 lungworm larvae were measured. The study also determined the effect of adding condensed tannins (CT), extracted from chicory, to rumen and abomasal fluid on L1 lungworm larval migration. CT are a group of phenolic secondary plant compounds found in chicory at concentrations of approximately, 4.2g/kgDM (Terrill et al., 1992).

NM, Schreurs, AL Molan, N Lopez-Villalobos, TN Barry, and WC McNabb

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 62, Palmerston North, 143-144, 2002