Haematocrit, Haemoglobin, Total Protein And Whole Blood Coagulation Time Of The Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

Abstract

The study was performed on a total of one hundred and nineteen apparently healthy mallards, reared under the traditional extensive management system with the aim of establishing the base-line values of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), total protein (TP) and whole blood coagulation time (WBCT) of these birds in Funtua, North Central region of Nigeria. The overall mean values for PCV, Hb, TP and WBCT were 40.12  0.58%, 13.37  0.20g %, 6.60  0.21g/dl and 3.60  0.13 min, respectively. Although the mean values of 41.46  0.78%, 13.82  0.26g % and 3.70  0.20 min obtained for PCV, Hb and WBCT, respectively in the male were higher than the corresponding values of 39.00  0.83%, 13.00  0.28g % and 3.52  0.17 min recorded for the female, there were no significant differences (P>0.05) between these values. On the other hand, the mean value of 7.83  0.28g/dl obtained for TP in the female was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the value of 5.14  0.16g/dl obtained in the male. The correlation coefficient between PCV and TP was negative and significant (r = - 0.371, P<0.05), while the relationship between the PCV and WBCT was negative and insignificant (r = - 0.119, P>0.05). On the other hand, the correlation coefficient between the TP and WBCT was positive, but insignificant (r = 0.121, P>0.05). It was concluded that this study has provided for the first time the base-line values for PCV, Hb, TP and WBCT of the mallard, reared under the traditional extensive management system in Funtua, North Central region of Nigeria. It is hoped that the results obtained from this study will give insight into using blood parameters to develop efficient comprehensive herd-health management programme for prophylaxis and therapy of poultry diseases, especially those involving circulatory disturbances in this part of the country.

Keywords: Blood coagulation, Mallard, Haematology

Nigerian Veterinary Journal Vol. 28 (1) 2007 pp. 14-20