A PRELIMINARY SURVEY ON THE PARASITES OF FREE RANGE CHICKEN IN ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE,

of poultry production (Ikpi and Akinwunmi, 1981). It is estimated that this provide 12kg of poultry needs per inhabitants per year whereas cattle provides 5.3kg (Forsido, 1986). This means that by comparison, poultry meat is more available to the people than beef. Parasitism has been identified as one of the major factors that threatens village free-range chicken production (Adene and Dipeolu, 1975). Reports have shown that mortality due to parasitic diseases is higher A preliminary study was carried out to assess the parasitic burden of domesticated and free range chicken in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. A total of twenty birds where purchased from five popular markets in Abeokuta namely, Itoku, Kuto, Lafenwa and Osiele and examined for presence of parasites. The skin and feathers of the birds were also combed to check for ectoparasites. Afterward, the birds were slaughtered and the intact gastro-intestinal tract were then separated and opened to check for endoparasites. All parasites found were collected into petri-dishes and examined under microscope for identification. Two species of ectoparasites Menacanthus stramineus with a prevalence of 90.0 % and Lipeurus caponis with a prevalence of 60.0 % were recovered. Three species of endoparasites found consisted of two nematodes (Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum) and one cestode (Raillietina echinobothridia). Ascaridia galli and Raillietina echinobothridia were seen in the small intestine and Heterakis gallinarum in the caecum. Raillietina echinobothridia had the highest prevalence of 80.0 % followed by Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum each with 60.0 % prevalence. The results show that free-range chickens in Abeokuta carry high parasitic burden which could be a big constraint to their productivity and commercial value