Prevalence of Ectoparasites Infestation in Poultry in Haramaya District, Eastern Hararghe Zone; Oromia Region, Ethiopia

The poultry industry has an important position in the provision of animal protein (meat and egg) to man and plays a vital role in the national economy as a source of revenue. Ectoparasites received little attention in almost all the production systems. Thus, the study was conducted in 2014 with the objectives to estimate prevalence and species of chicken ectoparasites, their predilection sites and to assess potential risk factors associated with their infestation. The present study shows that the prevalence of various ectoparasites in both local and exotic chicken that are reared under both extensive and semi intensive management systems, in eastern Hararghe, Haramaya district. The direct stereomicroscopic identification of poultry ectoparasites identified five species of parasites belonging to the orders of Acarina, Arachnida, Sinophthera and Phthinapthera. The overall prevalence of the ectoparasites in freely scavenging chicken in Haramaya district was 55.47%, which may hinder the productivity of the subsector. Hence, awareness creation should be made to producers to put in place better control and preventive measures to gain the expected output from the growing sector.