Maggot

The study was aimed at ensuring a sustainable production of live maggots for tilapia feeding. The study was carried out in the Department of BiotechnologyUniversity for Development Studies, Nyankpala campus, and part at Water Research Institute, Tamale-Ghana. Three different substrates (Pito waste-PIW, Poultry waste-POW, and Animal digester or rumen liquor-AD) were used as culturing media for the maggots. Also the relishing effect of live maggots by tilapia at different growth phases was realized. Significant difference in the length, girth, quantity and weight were observed. There was significant difference in all the parameters between the substrates types with maggots cultured in animal digester showing significantly higher yield than those cultured in pito and poultry wastes. Tilapia at all phases of growth relished live maggots but the adult tilapia (100 g) showed the highest total percentage rate of uptake of live maggot at 43.06% per 6 hours. This study has shown that maggots...

Hoof disease and injuries are common and serious problems for equines. Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) has been used to treat problematic wounds in humans, but has been used only rarely in other animals. US veterinarians who had employed MDT were surveyed to investigate their reasons for the choice of this treatment and their clinical experiences with it. Between 1997 and 2003, 13 horses were treated by eight veterinarians who used MDT to control infection or debride wounds, which could not easily be reached surgically or were not responding to conventional therapy. Seven animals were lame, and six were expected to require euthanasia. Following maggot therapy, all infections were eradicated or controlled, and only one horse had to be euthanased. No adverse events were attributed to maggot therapy for any of these cases, other than presumed discomfort during therapy. The data collected suggest that maggot therapy could be useful for treating some serious equine hoof and leg wounds.