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Articles

Vol. 28 No. 1 (2025): 2025

Effect of seasonal variation on haematology and serum biochemical parameters of West African Dwarf sheep reared semi-intensively

  • Olafimihan B. J
  • Yusuf A. O
  • Arotiba E. O
  • Ibrahim O. W
  • Akpowu O. M.
  • Ogunmefun F. T.
Submitted
June 27, 2025
Published
2025-07-04

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of season on the haematological and biochemical parameters of 100 (50 male and 50 female) apparently healthy growing West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep with an average weight of 12.25kg reared semi intensively. Blood samples were collected fortnightly throughout the 9-months experimental period. Haematological and biochemical parameters in blood were measured and analyzed separately for both seasons. Means of parameters measured between the male and female sheep for both seasons were compared using one way analysis of variance. The results showed that all haematological and biochemical parameters measured did not differ significantly during the dry season. However, in the rainy season, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin were significantly (p<0.05) different, with rams having a higher value than females. All parameters measured however, were within the normal range for WAD sheep. It can be concluded that within the seasons, sexual differences did not influence serum chemistry and the health status of WAD sheep.