Incidence of Gastrointestinal Parasites among Chegu Goats in Lahaul and Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh

A study was conducted to observe the incidence of gastrointestinal parasitic infections, qualitatively and quantitatively in apparently healthy Chegu goats from the tribal area of Lahaul and Spiti of Himachal Pradesh to generate a baseline data of the natural parasitic infections in that area. The qualitative coprological studies revealed that 76.66% goats were positive for one or another type of gastrointestinal parasites. The coccidian oocysts, ova of strongyles and amphistomes were found in 71.42%, 17.85% and 3.57%, animals, respectively. The quantitative coprological studies revealed the average egg per gram of faeces (EPG) to be 257.14 ± 62.67 with a range of 100­ 1200. Eimeria parva, Eimeria ovina and Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae were the species of coccidia that were identified. The average oocyst per gram of faeces was found to be 1010.71 ± 93.72 and it ranged between 300­-2300.