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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