EFFECTIVENESS OF NEEM OIL VERSUS PRAZIQUANTEL/OXFENDAZOLE FOR TREATMENT OF ENDOPARASITES IN EARED DOVES (ZENAIDA AURICULATA): A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

bstract It is often difficult to control parasite loads in captive animals in zoological institutions and there is the concern of rising drug resistance. Therefore, alternatives to parasite control should be investigated. Neem fruit (Azadirachta indica) is a herb native to India and has long been used in ancient Ayurvedic medicine. It has also been noted to have anti-parasitic properties and has been used as an alternative method of combatting endoparasitism in various animals successfully. In this randomized controlled trial, the effectiveness of neem oil as a dewormer was compared to the chemical dewormer wormout gel (Vetafarm, 20 g/L Praziquantel, 20 g/L Oxfendazole) and was tested in a group of 18 eared doves (Geopelia striata). These 18 doves were randomized equally into 3 groups where one group was given neem oil daily, the second group was given wormout gel (Vetafarm, 20 g/L Praziquantel, 20 g/L Oxfendazole) once and the last group was the control group and given water daily. Faecal tests (wet mount and McMaster egg counting technique) were done by a veterinary lab technician that was blinded to the group assignment. The faecal tests were done and the weight of each bird was recorded on admission, daily during the treatment period and 1 day after the treatment was finished. The daily weights and faecal test results were recorded down and the mean parasite ova per gram of feces and mean number of days where the parasite ova count was negative were calculated for each dove. The means were analyzed and the results showed that there were no significant benefits of using neem oil as a dewormer as compared to the wormout gel. Even though there was no significant benefits of using neem oil as a dewormer as compared to wormout gel in this study, further studies should be performed on neem as a natural antiparasitic alternative as not much knowledge about neem use in birds is available.