White blood cells count, lympho- cytes count and platelets decreased with age. ..... significantly from those of adults. (Hawkey et al. 1984;. Drew et al., 1993). We.
Journal
HEMATOLOGICAL
AND
PLASMA
INTERVALS
IN YOUNG
A. Montesinos,1
A. Sainz,2 M. V. Pablos,1
1 2
Centro Veterinario Los Sauces. Departamento Patologla Animal Departamento
Patologla
BIOCHEMICAL
WHITE
:3:33. I)is,’a,t
J)i,a,t. © \iI(I1if(’
1937.
pp
405-412 199
ssxijtjoij
REFERENCE
STORKS F. Mazzucchelli,2
and M. A. Tesouro3
Cl Los Y#{233}benes, 98, 28047, Madrid, Spain II, Facultad de Veterinana. 28040, Madrid,
Animal-Medicina
i:ldIif,
of
Veterinana,
Facultad
Spain
de Veterinaria,
LeOn,
Spain
plasma chemistry parameters were measured in 129 juvenile either wild or captive bred, April to June 1994. Wild storks were members of a colony in the Lozoya River Valley, Madrid, Spain. Red blood cells count, packed cell volume and hemoglobin increased significantly with age. White blood cells count, lymphocytes count and platelets decreased with age. Total solids, total proteins, fibrinogen, albumin, alpha, beta, gamma-globulins and urea increased with age. Differences between captive and wild storks
birds
and
Hernatological
AIIsTIIAcT:
white
(Ciconia
were
Key
not
ciconia),
notable.
White
words:
stork,
Ciconia
hematology,
ciconia,
INTRODUCTION
White ly
storks
nest
Due
(Ciconia
near
to the
humans,
as a result, recent been
tion
centers
is no cies
conservation rest of Europe,
numbers
out
be-
have
of
these
programs
avian
recupera-
by
present,
local the
considered
birds,
or
by
of
a threatened
these
veterinary are
found
growing strings
and
by
members band
adaptation and the
to loss
these
to
known electric number
gastrointestinal and
cables
of young
birds.
storks
which
mistake for worms or tions in feeding habitats
have
METHODS
kept
in Animal avian
Products,
Intensive
incubators
Care (Animal
Norko, California, USA) for of life and were hand-fed, emrepresenting an adult stork, old enough to eat alone. The nests whose occupants were
first
to have died, usually from gunshot or during repairs of the church roofs where the nests were built. The eggs thus obtained were kept in standard avian incubators until the chicks hatched. After reaching 1 mo of age, the chicks were housed with other storks in artificial nests. The birds were not visually exposed to humans during their growth period and reached flying age without imprintwounds
in
by
ing
may
Modifica-
may
inthose
known
found
birds
snakes.
also
are
were
month ploying a puppet until they were eggs came from
as colliAn evercaused
the
Care
of orniurban wet-
impactions
AND
(AICU)-type
their
the new of former
such lines.
reference storks and
analyzed
in 1994
Unit
chicks
the
problems power
tre,
cen-
ailing
who
to
129 blood samples taken from white storks (Ciconia ciconia). The seven storks hatched in the Cenicientos (4#{176}30’ N, 40#{176}15’W), Madrid Recuperation Cen-
for which
have been related to the introducof new diseases and an increase
previously sions with with
nests
societies
The storks’ environments
in
fledglings
in their
been
programs Most storks
attention
injured
thological
has
Samour, to determine
brought
(Dein, 1986; 1988). Our study the hematolog-
juvenile
undertaken
centers
rehabilitation and sick birds.
receive
lands tion
tasks
recuperation
establish wounded ters
principal
storks,
centers
MATERIALS
speWe
the
young
biochemistry process of all
stork
in Spain. One
including
blood diagnostic
ical and serum biochemical tervals in both young wild born in captivity.
state
white
and of the
the recuperation Hawkey and was designed
risen
by
sponsored
longer
birds
chemistry.
concentration of birds in rubbish increasing the risk of collision with lines and impactions.
Hematology form a part
stork
these
Many
At
settings. of the
decades,
carried
governments.
urban
of various and the their
years.
have
to the dumps, power
common-
decrease
in past
came the focus programs in Spain in
in
alarming
population
and,
ciconia)
plasma
led
problems.
were
dazol
(Panacur#{174},
France). 405
the
All
Centre
birds
routinely
Blood
admitted
dewormed Hoechst-
samples
into
with Roussell,
were
obtained
the
fenben-
Paris,
from
JOURNAL
406
OF WILDLIFE
DISEASES,
VOL.
33, NO. 3, JULY
the birds hatched in captivity within the first 72 hr after hatching and subsequently on days 15, 30, 45 and 90. The blood samples from young white storks in the wild were obtained from members of a colony in the Lozoya River Valley (Community of Madrid) (3#{176}45’N, 40#{176}55’W). Members of the Spanish Ornithological Society were conducting a study of these birds during their nesting season. The storks belonged to a colony of 36 nests built in easily reached ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior). This colony was under surveillance by ornithologists who also recorded the age of the young birds. The study began with 31 chicks, but that number decreased, due primarily to gastrointestinal impactions and abandonment on the part of some parents. Blood samples were taken from individuals in the same nests and were classified into three groups according to the age of the chicks: under 12 days of age (n = 31), between 17 and 32 days-old (n = 25) and between 44 and 52 days of age (n = 23). Our
study
lasted
from
the
end
of
April
to
the
beginning of June 1994. No differentiation was made between the sexes of the storks whose blood was studied as these birds do not exhibit sexual dimorphism. The blood was obtained from the right jugular vein by means of 3 ml syringes and 25 G needles. Both the birds hatched in captivity as well as those found in nests were manually restrained while the samples were collected. The blood was carefully transferred to test tubes containing an anticoagulant; 0.75 ml of the sample were combined with dipotassium EDTA and the rest (1.25 ml) was placed in heparinized test tubes. Smears were prepared at once and methanol (3 mm) was used as a fixative at the time of the extraction. The test tubes with the blood were stored between 0 and 4 C until they reached the laboratory. The blood taken from the storks in captivity was processed
immediately
upon
extraction.
The
blood samples from the wild storks reached the laboratory 6 to 12 hr after collection. For the red and white cell counts, the whole blood was diluted 200 and 50 times, respectively, using Natt and Herrick’s solution, in blood-cell dilution pipettes (Campbell, 1988). Using an improved Neubauer hemocytometer, the red blood cells seen in the 10 groups of 16 small squares, and all the big cells (white blood cells) seen in the Neubauer slide were counted.
The
hemoglobin
content
the Drabkin technique fied by the addition hemolytic agent. Blood
wald
smears
Giemsa
were
stains
was determined of
(Drabkin, distilled
stained
(Campbell,
1945) water with
using modito the
May-Grun-
1988).
At least
1997
400 cells were counted in each smear; the absolute number of thrombocytes was determined by comparing their number with the total white cell count. No attempt was made to identify immature erythrocytes or to differen-
tiate between appropriate mean
large and small lymphocytes. The formulas were used to determine
corpuscular
volume,
mean
corpuscular
hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration values (Campbell, 1988). The biochemical plasma analyses were undertaken using a dry chemical system (Reflotron#{174},Boehringer-Manheim, Barcelona, Spain) (Schwendenwein, 1988). The choice of the parameters studied was made taking into account their clinical utility, the availability of the means needed for the analyses and economic considerations. Refractometry at room temperature (21 C) was used to estimate the total plasma solids. Electrophoresis of the plasma proteins was performed on cellulose acetate, using the heparinized plasma (Dein, 1986; Campbell, 1988). The total albumin reading has been separated into the albumin and prealbumin fractions, in order to check whether the latter index decreased in the chicks with age. Globulin values were determined by adding up the alpha, beta, and gamma
globulin
fractions.
Fibrinogen
was
computed
using
the
tion
technique
at 56
C for
sample employed (Campbell, 1988). ratio was worked (Campbell, 1988). Statistical
to The
3 mm
total
on
the
the
same
hematocrit
protemns/fibnnogen
using
the
was
content
microprecipita-
ascertain
out
analysis
heat
proper
performed
formula using
the
computer program SIGMA (Horns Hardware, Madrid, Spain). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine significant differences between groups. Values of P 0.01 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS
Most hematological chicks varied significantly
with
1). Of these,
red
cell volume, lymphocyte
hemoglobin ratio increased
with age. phocytes with age.
blood
values
White count All of
cells
in wild stork age (Table
count, and
blood cells and platelets the biochemical
heterophil:
significantly count, lymdecreased parame-
ters studied significantly
in wild with age
storks except
cholesterol,
uric
potassium,
fibrinogen ratio (Table
ratio and albumin: 2). Total solids, total
fibnnogen,
albumin,
acid,
alpha,
packed
chicks varied triglycerides, proteins:
beta,
globulins proteins, gamma-
MONTESINOS
1.
TABI.E
Heinatological
values
ET AL-BLOOD
stork
in wild
chicks
REFERENCE
from
Lozoya
INTERVALS
River
Valles
IN YOUNG
STORKS
407
1994.
Age of chicks days
