Age and Sex Influences on the Haematology and Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility of the Nigerian Turkey

摘要

This study was conducted to evaluate the haematological parameters and the erythrocyte osmotic fragility of the Nigerian turkeys, reared under intensive management and to determine the influence of age and gender. Data obtained are expected to serve as reference values for adult Nigerian turkeys during disease diagnosis and general health status assessment in this strain of turkey. Ten each of adult male, female and young 8 weeks old Nigerian turkeys raised under intensive management in a local farm were used for the study. Blood samples were collected from apparently healthy birds reared under intensive management in a local farm in Ibadan, South West, Nigeria. The Red Blood Cell (RBC) count was significantly higher in the adult female turkeys than in the male while the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) was lower. The Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and the Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) as well as the total White Blood Cell (WBC) count were similar in both sexes. The erythrocyte osmotic fragility was also higher in the female than in the males. The Hb, RBC, MCH, MCHC and WBC values were also found to be higher in the young 8 weeks old turkeys than in the adults. The erythrocyte osmotic fragility was also higher in the young turkeys than in the adults. This study shows that age and gender variations in haematological parameters exist in the turkeys despite rearing under intensive management system. It also shows that the erythrocytes in the female and young turkeys are more susceptible to osmotic lysis. This is an indication that the erythrocytes from young and female turkeys are less resistant to oxidative stress .