Gastrointestinal nematodes are responsible for wide range of health problems, economic losses in bovines and are characterized by reduced milk production, decreased working efficiency and even death. This study was done to evaluate the effect of different anthelmintics on nematode control in different parity cattle at calving and their effect on milk yield. In this study, we screened cattle of 1st and 2nd parity for nematodes. Animals were randomly selected in each group. In first parity animals, we found 23 positive cattle which were divided into 3 different groups while in second parity animals, we found 20 positive cattle which were divided into 3 groups. We used Albendazole (Velbazine) @ 10mg/kg body weight and levamisole (Nilverm) @ 7.5mg/kg bodyweight for treatment. In this study both drugs were found effective in controlling nematodes infections in cattle. Percentage reduction of epg by albendazole was 48.20%, 85.34%, 93.90% and 51.54%, 81.43%, 91.74% on day 7, 14 and 21 in 1st and 2nd parity animals respectively. Percentage reduction of epg by levamisole was 44.45%, 76.92%, 88.03% and 46.60%, 73.78%, 85.43% on day 7, 14 and 21 in 1st and 2nd parity animals respectively. The increase in milk production in current study was 0.39 liter per day and 0.92 liter per day in 1st and 2nd parity cattle respectively. Albendazole increased the milk fat by 0.07 %, while levamisole decreased 0.02 % in 1st parity cattle. In 2nd parity cattle, there was sufficient increase of 0.1% of milk fat by albendazole while levamisole has decreased 0.05 %.
We conclude from our studies that anthelmintic treatment of recently calved cattle have significant effect on milk production due to the nematode control. Milk production increased significantly in 2nd parity friesian crossed cattle following anthelmintic treatment as compared to
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1st parity animals. Levamisole has negative effect on fat concentration in friesian crossed cattle while albendazole treated cattle has positive effect. Albendazole has been found more efficient in reducing EPG of helminths in both parity animals as compared to levamisole treated animals. It is recommended that cattle should be checked for GIT parasites by faecal examination on regular basis so that cattle should be dewormed when needed.