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Aim:To determine the prevalence and diversity of Eimeria spp. in dairy cattle present in and around Guwahati, Kamrup district, Assam, India.Materials and Methods:A total of 2339 fecal samples of calves (535), heifer (641) and adult (1163) cattle were screened for 1 year present in and around Guwahati, Assam for detection of Eimeria oocysts by flotation techniques. Sporulation of the oocyst was done in 2.5% potassium dichromate solution for identification of the Eimeria species.Results:Examination of fecal samples revealed an overall prevalence of 11.97% Eimeria infection in dairy cattle of Guwahati, Assam. Age-wise, 33.2%, 45.4%, and 21.4% infections were recorded in calves (<1 year), heifer (1-3 years) and adult (>3 years) cattle, respectively. Season-wise, infection was recorded highest during post-monsoon (16.29%), followed by monsoon (15%), winter (9.44%), and pre-monsoon (7.49%) season. Seven species of Eimeria were recorded viz. Eimeria bovis, Eimeria zuernii, Eimeria subspherica, Eimeria bukidnonensis, Eimeria auburnensis, Eimeria ellipsoidalis and Eimeria alabamensis. The oocyst count per gram of feces ranged from 50 to 1500 in infected cattle.Conclusion:This study indicates that there is the prevalence of seven species of Eimeria in dairy cattle of Guwahati, Assam and mostly prevalent during the post-monsoon season.

Aim:The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the blood biochemical metabolites of crossbred cattle suffering from brucellosis, in Khetri region of Kamrup District of Assam, India.Materials and Methods: Blood was collected by venipuncture from the jugular vein using 18 gauge hypodermic needle fitted to a Vacutainer-Leur adapter and evacuated tubes. Samples were screened for Brucella by rose Bengal plate test using plate test antigen. The study consisted of two groups. Group I consisted of healthy crossbred cows and Group II consisted of crossbred cows affected with brucellosis. Blood metabolites were estimated by spectrophotometric methods.Results: Out of 14 serum samples, 8 samples were positive for Brucella and remaining 6 were found to be negative. It was observed that serum albumin and urea of the affected cattle showed a significant decrease (p<0.05), but serum globulin, cholesterol, triglyceride, aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase activities were significantly increased (p<0.05) in comparison to the healthy cattle. Glucose, protein, albumin: globulin ratio, blood urea nitrogen did not show much variation between the Brucellosis affected and healthy cattle. Conclusion:Results obtained showed that brucellosis have a harmful effect on the animals health as they disturb the vital organs functions, which appear in the form of changes in blood biochemical parameters.

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A biological trial was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding garlic (Allium sativum) powder as prebiotic on the performance of broiler chicken. A total of 144 numbers of day old broiler chicks with uniform body weight were randomly divided into four groups viz, T 0 (Standard basal diet as control), T 1 (basal diet + 0.5 percent garlic powder), T 2 (basal diet + 1.0 percent garlic powder) and T 3 (basal diet + 1.5 percent garlic powder) comprising 36 chicks in each group. The final body weight was significantly (P≤0.05) higher in T 2 group (2175.00g) followed by T 3 (2008.3g), T 1 (1986.11g) and T 0 (1904.86g). In respect of overall FCR, the T2 group showed the best FCR value of 1.67 followed by T 3 (1.74), T 0 (1.78) and T 1 (1.80). The study revealed that there was increased body weight, improved FCR, highest BPEI and cent percent livability and higher gross profit per bird offered with 1.0 percent garlic powder in feed.