A Survey of Parasites of Domesticated Pigeon (Columba livia domestic) in Zaria, Nigeria

From a major slaughter slab in Zaria, samples were collected from 250 domesticated pigeons and screened for helminths, ectoparasites and protozoan parasites. Eimeria sp. Haemoproteus columbae, Leucocytozoon sp. and Plasmodium relictum were the protozoan parasites encountered with 49.2, 15.6, 6.4 and 0.8% prevalence, respectively. Raillietina tetragona (4.9%), Raillietina cesticillus (3.0%), Raillietina echinobothrida (7.6%), Ascaridia columbae (1.2%), Ascaridia galli (1.2%) and Cappillaria anatis (0.8%) were the helminths seen, while Pseudolynchia canariensis (17.6%) was the only ectoparasite seen. The presence of these parasites were considered to pose a danger to achieving the full potentials of the up-coming pigeon barbecue business in Zaria.