Haematological, biochemical and selected acute phase protein reference intervals for weaned female Merino lambs.

BACKGROUND Merino lambs are currently the subject of much research into the welfare aspects of mulesing and mulesing alternatives. OBJECTIVE Obtain haematology, biochemistry and acute phase protein reference intervals using modern methodologies for female Merino lambs. METHOD Blood was collected from 50, weaned, 9- to 16-week-old, female Merino lambs. Haematology and biochemistry panels were performed using routine automated methods. The acute phase proteins, fibrinogen, serum amyloid A and haptoglobin, were also measured using commercially available techniques. The reference intervals were determined to be the central 95% of results. RESULTS Differences in the concentrations for some analytes were seen when compared with reported studies in sheep, but may be explained by the use of sheep of a different signalment, as well as different methodologies for analyte measurement. Overall, most analytes gave similar values to those previously reported in other studies. Notable exceptions were alkaline phosphatase, phosphate and globulins, for which the different results were often attributed to the younger age of the sheep in the present study, and platelets and creatine kinase, for which the elevated levels may have been a result of stress and muscle exertion associated with blood collection and husbandry practices. CONCLUSION Established haematological, biochemical and acute phase protein reference intervals are necessary for the investigation of the systemic impact of mulesing and mulesing alternatives and for the investigation of systemic diseases affecting weaned, 9- to 16-week-old, female Merino lambs in general.

[1]  E. Uysal,et al.  Effects of seasonal and physiological variations on the serum chemistry, vitamins and thyroid hormone concentrations in sheep. , 2006, Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine.

[2]  N. Panousis,et al.  Effects of age and reproductive stage on certain serum biochemical parameters of chios sheep under greek rearing conditions. , 2006, Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine.

[3]  A. Ozpinar,et al.  Effect of Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica Infection on Acute-phase Proteins and Some Mineral Levels in Colostrum–Breast Milk-fed or Colostrum–Breast Milk-deprived Sheep , 2006, Veterinary Research Communications.

[4]  M. Mohri,et al.  Serum and whole blood inorganic phosphorus in lambs from birth to 400th day of life: effect of weaning as a cutoff point between neonatal and adult levels , 2005, Comparative Clinical Pathology.

[5]  D. Bélanger,et al.  Biochemical reference ranges for groups of ewes of different ages , 2005, Veterinary Record.

[6]  M. Yoshioka,et al.  Current research on acute phase proteins in veterinary diagnosis: an overview. , 2004, Veterinary journal.

[7]  I. Colditz,et al.  Serum amyloid A in the serum and milk of ewes with mastitis induced experimentally with Staphylococcus epidermidis , 2003, Veterinary Record.

[8]  A. Nolan,et al.  Analgesia of newborn lambs before castration and tail docking with rubber rings , 2001, Veterinary Record.

[9]  D. Noakes,et al.  Acute phase protein response of ewes and the release of PGFM in relation to uterine involution and the presence of intrauterine bacteria , 1999, Veterinary Record.

[10]  D. Aziz,et al.  Effect of dystocia on serum haptoglobin in Awassi ewes. , 1997, Theriogenology.

[11]  J. González,et al.  The effects of age and reproductive status on serum and blood parameters in merino breed sheep. , 1997, Zentralblatt fur Veterinarmedizin. Reihe A.

[12]  L. Roberts,et al.  Haptoglobin as an indicator of infection in sheep , 1994, Veterinary Record.

[13]  L. D. Murray,et al.  A preliminary study of serum haptoglobin concentration as a prognostic indicator of ovine dystocia cases. , 1992, The British veterinary journal.

[14]  G. Suckling,et al.  Serum total protein and albumin levels in grazing sheep. , 1974, New Zealand veterinary journal.

[15]  Gardner De.  Values for certain blood and urine constituents of normal young lambs. , 1973 .

[16]  A. Stalker,et al.  An evaluation of the heat precipitation method for plasma fibrinogen estimation , 1971, Journal of clinical pathology.

[17]  C. N. Hebert,et al.  Erythrocyte and leukocyte parameters in newborn lambs. , 1971, Research in veterinary science.

[18]  P. Healy.  Serum alkaline phosphatase in sheep. , 1971, Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry.

[19]  A. H. Reed,et al.  Influence of statistical method used on the resulting estimate of normal range. , 1971, Clinical chemistry.

[20]  J. Gajewski,et al.  Blood coagulation values of sheep. , 1971, American journal of veterinary research.

[21]  V. Zyl,et al.  Contributions to the study of blood constituents in domestic animals in South Africa. 6. Normal values for serum protein fractions in sheep as obtained by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate strips. , 1967 .

[22]  E. R. Miller,et al.  SHEEP HEMATOLOGY FROM BIRTH TO MATURITY. II. LEUKOCYTE CONCENTRATION AND DIFFERENTIAL DISTRIBUTION. , 1965, Journal of animal science.

[23]  E. R. Miller,et al.  SHEEP HEMATOLOGY FROM BIRTH TO MATURITY. I. ERYTHROCYTE POPULATION, SIZE AND HEMOGLOBIN CONCENTRATION. , 1961, Journal of animal science.

[24]  J. Kaneko.  Clinical biochemistry of domestic animals , 1963 .

[25]  Dunlap Js,et al.  The effect of age and pregnancy on ovine blood protein fractions. , 1955 .

[26]  S. Josland.  A study of the blood of healthy sheep and cattle in New Zealand. , 1933 .

[27]  J. H. Norris,et al.  A CHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION IN VICTORIA (AUSTRALIA) OF THE BLOOD OF CATTLE AND SHEEP , 1929 .