Salinomicin was evaluated for the control of caprine eimeriosis in the pre-weaning (PRW) and post-weaning (POW) phases. Twenty seven crossbred goat kids were randomly distributed among three treatments: T0, not medicated (check group); T1 and T2 daily medicated with 1.0 and 2.0mg/kg living weight of salinomicin, respectively. In the PRW, there were not significant differences (P>0.05) in the daily weight gain among the treatments. However, in the POW, the T0 group presented daily weight gain inferior (P>0.05) to the T1 and T2 groups, which did not statiscally differ (P>0.05) between themselves. The average number of oocistes per gram of faeces in the T0 at the two studied phases was significatively higher (P<0.01) than in the T1 and T2, which did not statiscally differ (P>0.05) between themselves. The average carcass yield was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the T0 group than in the T2, which presented similar results (P>0.05) to the T1 group. The use of salinomicin resulted in higher weight gains by the lambs, and improved the economic yield. The treatments T1 and T2 were equivalent in the caprine eimeriosis control since both treatments presented higher weight gains and lower oocistogram than the treatment T0. However, treatment T1 should be recommended due to its better economic efficiency.
goats; Eimeria; control; quimioterapy; salinomicin
