Relationship between parasitism with milk yield and body weight of Mafriwal cattle

Mafriwal cattle have good characteristics, but parasitism effects on their production have never been explored. This study aimed to determine the relationship between phenotypic markers of parasitism, namely packed cell volume (PCV), peripheral eosinophils count (PEC), nematode eggs (EPG), and coccidia oocyst (OPG) with the milk yield and body weight of Mafriwal cattle. Fecal and blood samples were collected from 242 cattle between 2021 and 2022. PCV and PEC were obtained from blood samples, while EPG and OPG were obtained from fecal samples. PCR was conducted to identify haemoparasite species. Milk yield data and the body weight of calves were also recorded. Spearman's rank correlation showed that body weight has a negative correlation with PCV (r=-0.4; P<0.01) and a positive correlation with PEC (r=0.39; P<0.01) in 2022. Multiple linear regression models were used to determine the effect of phenotypic markers and year of sampling on milk yield and body weight. The best models were selected based on the lowest Akaike Information Criterion. Milk yield decreased significantly (P<0.001) from 2021 to 2022. An increase in PEC led to a significant reduction (P<0.001) in milk yield. Conversely, body weight increased significantly (P<0.001) from 2021 to 2022 and an increase in PCV caused a significant (P<0.001) reduction in body weight. Elevated EPG and OPG led to significant (P<0.01) reductions in body weight but the interaction between EPG and OPG has a significant positive (P<0.001) impact on body weight. Overall, the findings suggest that milk yield and body weight of Mafriwal cattle were significantly affected by parasitism thus necessitating the implementation of parasite control approaches.