Haematological and Serum Bio-Chemical Parameters of West African Dwarf and Kalahari Red Goats in the Humid Tropics

Abstract

The comparative haematological and serum biochemical parameters of apparently healthy 7 West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks indigenous to the humid climate of West Africa and 7 Kalahari Red (KR) bucks introduced to the humid zone of Southwestern Nigeria from the semi arid sub tropical zone of South Africa was investigated to determine the health status and the adaptability of the KR to the humid zone. The animals were zero grazed and fed concentrate at 4 % dry matter body weight basis and Bracharia decumbens hay ad libitum for six months consisting of two seasons; cold dry season (November – January) and hot dry season (February – April).Blood samples were collected once a month via the jugular vein for haematological and serum bio chemical analysis. Data were analyzed for the effects of breed and season using a general linear model appropriate for 2 x 2 factorial format. Haematological results showed that white blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration were significantly (p<0.001) higher in the WAD than in KR goats (19.85 x 10³ vs. 15.06 x 10³; 91.71 g/dl vs.83.42 g/dl; 25.05 % vs. 22.14 %; 15.03 fl vs.13.86 fl; 5.4 pg vs. 5.14 pg; 381.90 g/dl vs. 368.65 g/dl respectively).Serum biochemical analysis showed that triglyceride was higher (p<0.05) in the WAD than the KR goats (98.3 mg/dl vs. 84.75 mg/dl).It can be concluded that WAD adapt better to the humid tropical conditions than the KR goats because of its rapid and potent defence against infectious agent as reflected in the white blood cell counts. However, the blood analysis of the KR indicated that it is a breed that could thrive well in the humid tropics since the animals were apparently physically healthy.

Key words: biochemical; haematology; Kalahari red goats; West African dwarf goats