Abdul Lateef

Effect of age, sex and physiological stages on hematological indices of Banni buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

Aim: To determine the physiological baseline values for hematological indices of Banni buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) as well as to assess their alteration due to age, sex and physiological stages. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 clinically healthy Banni buffaloes were categorized into seven groups (n=6): Group I (male calves ≤1 year), Group II (bulls >1 year), Group III (female calves ≤1 year), Group IV (pregnant lactating buffaloes), Group V (non-pregnant lactating buffaloes), Group VI (pregnant dry buffaloes), and Group VII (non-pregnant dry buffaloes). Blood samples collected aseptically from all the experimental groups were analyzed employing automated hematology analyzer. The data obtained were statistically analyzed; the mean and standard deviations were calculated and set as the reference values. Results: The erythrocytic indices viz. total erythrocytes count (TEC), hemoglobin, and packed cell volume (PCV) were significantly higher in bulls as compared to that of male calves unlike mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and MCH concentration. The female calves had higher TEC and PCV than the adult buffaloes irrespective of sex. The total leukocyte count (TLC) and neutrophil counts in male calves were significantly lower than the bulls unlike the eosinophil, while monocyte and basophil remained unchanged with age. The TLC, differential leukocyte count and platelet count varied non-significantly among the adult female groups at different physiological stages. However, neutrophils were found to be apparently higher in lactating buffaloes. Conclusion: The present study would be helpful for physiological characterization of this unique buffalo breed of Gujarat. Further, data generated may be a tool for monitoring the health and prognosis as well as diagnosis of diseases.

Effects of different levels of urea supplementation on nutrient intake and growth performance in growing camels fed roughage based complete pellet diets

The utilization of urea in camels has beneficial and negative effects. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of different levels of urea supplementation on nutrients intake, digestibility, growth performance, feed efficiency and economics in growing camels fed roughage based complete pellet diets. In the present study, eighteen growing camels with an average live body weight of 306.17 ± 2.05 kg were randomly assigned in three treatments: T1 = roughage complete pellet diet without urea, T2 = T1 plus 1% urea, and T3 = T1 plus 2% urea. The results showed that the urea supplementation significantly affected average daily feed and nutrient intake of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (P < 0.05). On the contrary, the average daily intake of nitrogen free extract (NFE) and water were not influenced by increasing urea supplementation (P > 0.05). Similarly, digestion coefficient of DM, CP, ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF) and ADF was influenced by increasing urea level (P < 0.05), while the digestion coefficient of OM, NFE and NDF was not affected by increasing urea level (P > 0.05). The intake of digestive nutrients was similar among all treatment groups. Total body live weight gain and average daily gain were significantly higher in urea supplemented groups (P < 0.05) than in the control group. The supplementation of urea at 1% in low quality roughage complete pellet diets significantly improved (P < 0.05) the feed efficiency. In conclusion, these results indicated that the incorporation of urea at 1% in roughage based complete pellet diets could positively improve nutrients intake, digestibility, growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of growing camels.

Blood Metabolites and Their Variations in Kutchi Camels During Different Stages of Lactation

The present study was undertaken on Kutchi camels to determine values of blood metabolites and their variations at different stages of lactation. The study was carried out on 30 clinically healthy female camels (Camelus dromedarius) from the herd maintained at Camel breeding farm, Dhori (Kutch, Gujarat) and categorized broadly into three groups comprising ten animals in each group: animals in early lactation in Group-I, animals in mid-lactation in Group-II and animals in late lactation in Group-III. Current findings indicated that total cholesterol, creatinine and BUN were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased from early lactation to late lactation. The concentration of glucose was significantly (p < 0.05) increased from early lactation to late lactation. The levels of total bilirubin were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in early lactation as compared to mid and late lactation. The findings of the present study may be used to assess metabolic health status of animals.