Associative invasions of rabbits in farms of the Poltava region

Rabbit breeding is a very productive branch of animal husbandry that produces meat, hides, and down. Rabbit meat is a very valuable dietary product that is quickly absorbed by the human body and contains iron, many B vitamins, magnesium salts, phosphorus and other minerals, and is also rich in essential amino acids. One of the factors that leads to a decrease in the profitability of the rabbit breeding industry is parasitic diseases. Economic losses from infestations consist of loss of live weight and reduced fatness of rabbit carcasses, as well as deterioration of skin quality. The aim of the work was to investigate the distribution of associative infestations in rabbits in the Poltava region. The conducted research revealed the simplest organisms (Eimeria spp.), cestodes (Cysticercus pisiformis), nematodes (Passalurus ambiguus, Trichostrongylus sp.) and acariformes (Psoroptes cuniculi). The indicators of the extensivity of invasions in rabbits were for eimeriosis – 40.0 %, passalurosis – 29.64 %, cysticercosis pisiformis – 16.43 %, psoroptosis – 13.93 % and trichostrongylosis – 2.86 %. Parasitoses in rabbits was more often in the form of mixinvasions, where the rate of infestation reached 41.07 %. A total of 7 types of mixinvasions were registered, of which 5 are two-component associations of parasites, and 3 are three-component associations of parasites. Two-component mixinvasions were represented by the association of eimeries and passalurises (extensivity of invasion – 17.14 %), eimeries and cysticerces (7.86 %), eimeries and psoropteses (3.57 %), passalurises and cysticerces (6.07 %), passalurises and psoropteses (2.86 %). Three-component mixinvasions were characterized by the associative course of eimeries, passalurises and cysticerces (2.50 %) and eimeries, passalurises and psoropteses (1.07 %). The results of research on the associative course of parasitosis in rabbits indicate the need to use a complex of treatment and prevention measures in rabbit farms, taking into account the composition of parasites and their biological features.