Influence of Age and Gender on Heamatological Parameters of Apparently Healthy Barbary Sheep in Aljabal Alakhdar, Libya

Objective To report and assess the effect of age and gender on the heamatological parameters of Barbary Sheep from the southern region of Aljabal Alakhdar in Libya. Methods Blood samples were collected from forty nine apparently healthy Barbary sheep consisting of sixteen adult females, aged between 1.5 to 4 years, and thirty three young sheep, less than 12 months (17 males and 16 females). Packed cell volume (PCV), white blood Cell (WBC) count, red blood cell (RBC) count, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), differential white blood cells, and platelets counts were determined. The studied parameters were compared between males and females and between young and adult sheep. Results The PCV values were highly influenced (P=0.001) by both sex and age. Sex highly influenced (P0.05) by sex. The percentage of lymphocytes was higher in male Barbary sheep, while that for granulocytes was higher in female sheep, but the difference was not statistically significant. Age significantly influenced (P0.05) the monocytes values. Age greatly influenced (P=0.001) RBC, and Hb values of sheep. Age and sex had no significantly influence (Pgreater than0.05) on Platelets counts in Barbary sheep. Conclusions It can be concluded from the present study that there were significant differences in some of the hematological values between male and female and between young and adult Barbary sheep. The heamatological values reported in this study could serve as a baseline information for comparison in conditions of nutrient deficiency, physiological and health status of Barbary sheep in northeastern Libya.