Seasonal occurrence of coccidia in a mixed herd of sheep and goats at Nebo, northern province, South Africa.

The seasonal occurrence of coccidial oocysts was determined in a mixed herd of indigenous goats and cross-bred sheep at Nebo, Northern Province, South Africa. The herd of c. 30 sheep was housed with c. 70 goats in 1 camp. Over a period of 14 months, 114 faecal specimens were collected from sheep and 369 from goats and the number of oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG) determined. The mean OPG value for the adult sheep (1187.9) was significantly (p = 0.035) lower than the mean OPG value for the adult goats (7042.9). The highest mean value was recorded in the adult sheep during March 1996 (3044.4) and in adult goats during June 1995 (51568.7).