Prevalence of Tick Infestation in Goats under Different System of Management

The prevalence of tick infestation and their predilection sites was studied in goats (non-descript, Kanni and Boer x non-descript crossbred) under different system of management at Livestock Research Station, Kattupakkam, Tamil Nadu, India. The ticks were recovered only on the goats under semi-intensive system (100%) whereas the goats under intensive system were free from the tick infestation. The most abundant species found in this study were Haemaphysalis bispinosa (100%), Hyalomma marginatum isaaci (7.29%), Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides (3.13%) and H.anatolicum anatolicum (2.08%). Among the infested goats, females were heavily infested (78.64%) than the males (51.52%). Among the age groups, the hogget animals were heavily infested (83.87%) followed by adults (71.43%). Among the breeds, non-descript goats were heavily infested (94.29%) followed by Kanni goats (90.91%) and Boer x non-descript cross breeds (51.56%). Ticks were located mostly on the ears (69.79%) than the other parts of the body (30.21%).