EVALUATION OF HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF CHINCHILLA AND NEW ZEALAND WHITE RABBITS ON THE JOS PLATEAU

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating haematological parameters of apparently healthy Chinchilla (CHA) and New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. Forty rabbits at an average age of 7 weeks comprising 20 each of CHA and NZW in a sex ratio of 1:1 were used for the study. Five mililitres of blood was collected from the ear vein of each rabbit at the 20th week of age and poured into a well labeled (breed and sex) plastic bottles containing Ethylene Diamine Tetra acetic acid (EDTA) for Haematological profile determination..Data were using t-test and significant differences between groups were set to P < 0.05 in JMP SAS 13. Results showed that NZW had higher (P<0.05) Packed cell volume (PCV, 37.75%), Haemoglobin concentration (HB, 12.65 g/dl) and Red blood cell (RBC, 5.45 X10/L) than CHA with respective values of PCV (33.75%), HB (11.28 g/dl), RBC(3.95 X10/L). There was no significant (P>0.05) difference between breeds in White blood cell (WBC), Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils and Basophils. Similarly, sex of rabbit did not influence any other haematological values. It was concluded that NZW and CHA vary in PVC, HB and RBC. This should be noted when making references to normal haematological values during diagnosis