Hematological Parameters of three Strains of Local Cocks in Northern Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine the hematological parameters of three strains of the Nigerian indigenous cocks. A total of 15 sexually matured (14-18 month of age) breeders cocks comprising (5 normal feathered, 5 frizzled feathered and 5 naked neck) were used for the experiment. The study was conducted from October to December 2016 at the Teaching and Research Farm University of Maiduguri. Blood samples were collected from 9 breeder's cocks which were randomly selected 3 per genotype and used for hematological parameters examination. Hematological examination such as Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red Blood Cell ( RBC) , Haemoglobin (Hb), White Blood Cell (WBC), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin concentration ( MCHC), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Volume ( MCV) showed significant (P<0.05) different among breeds. Lymphocyte (L) showed no significant (P> 0.05) different between normal feathered and frizzle feathered but there is significant difference ( P< 0.05) with naked necked cock. Neutrophil ( N) showed significant (P<0.05) different among the breed. Monocyte ( M) and Eosinophil (E) showed no significant (P>0.05) difference between normal feathered and naked neck feathered , fizzle feathered and necked neck respectively but showed significant (P<0.05) difference between fizzle feathered and normal feathered respectively for M and E. the study concluded that variation in the heamatoloical parameters between three strains of local chicken in Nigeria is due to difference in their genetic makeup.