Values of Selected Haematological Indicators in Six Species of Feathered Game

Abstract

The present paper extends the knowledge of selected blood indicators in six species of feathered game such as helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris), common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), chukar (Alectoris chucar), grey partridge (Perdix perdix) and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), reared in the Czech Republic and Europe. The red blood cell (RBC) values in individual species of feathered game ranged as follows: the mean RBC counts varied in a range of 2.10 - 2.58 T/l; haematocrit values were in a range of 0.33 - 0.39 1/1; haemoglobin concentration varied in a range of 101.20 - 129.13 g/l; mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) ranged from 28.63 to 35.44%; mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) varied in a range of 46.15 - 62.07 pg and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was 147.66 - 178.20 fl. Except for the total concentration of haemoglobin and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, no significant differences were found between the mean values of RBC values in individual species of feathered game. However, some differences between species were found in white blood cell (WBC) values, ranging as follows: the total WBC count ranged from 13.55 to 26.90 G/l, basophil granulocytes from 0.011 to 0.110 G/l, eosinophil granulocytes from 0.011 to 0.593 G/l, neutrophil granulocytes from 1.868 to 6.661 G/l, lymphocytes from 10.937 to 20.922 G/l and monocytes from 0.034 to 0.199 G/l. Most values showed significant (P ⪬ 0.05) to highly significant (P ⪬ 0.01) interspecies differences. The main goal of the study was to investigate selected haematological indicators in six major species of feathered game.