Safety of Fenbendazole in Chinese Ring-Necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)

SUMMARY Ring-necked pheasantsraised on propagation farms can be severely parasitized with Syngamus trachea ( gapeworm) and other parasitic worms. Fenbendazoleis a highly effective benzimidazole-class anthelminticthat is not currently approved for game bird species in the United States. The objective of this work was to provide target animal safety data to support a label claim for fenbendazolein pheasantsat 100 parts per million (ppm) in the feed for 7 consecutive days. Demonstration of safety in young pheasantsand a separate demonstration of reproductive safety in adult birds were required. In the young bird study, 160 Chinese ring-necked pheasants( Phasianuscolchicus, 80 males and 80 females) were fed a commercial game bird starter ration containing no antibiotics, growth promoters, or coccidiostatsuntil day 0 of the study (approximately 21 days of age). On day 0 the birds were placed on their respective study diets containing fenbendazoleat 0, 100, 300, and 500 ppm for 21 days (three times the ...