Some hematological reference values estimated by the reference values advisor in the Iraqi Awassi sheep

The hematological parameters in domestic animal can be affected by several factors such as the sex, age, breed, and nutrition. There is a few published data on hematological reference values of the Iraqi Awassi sheep. Hence, the study aimed to determine hematological reference interval (RI) for the Awassi sheep to establish a basis for clinical interpretation. In the present study, a total 130 healthy Awassi sheep for both sex with two ages (2–5 years) were selected randomly from five regions (Shula, Abu-Ghraib, Mahmoudia, Yousifia, and Alameel) West and South of Baghdad during the period from December to February 2015–2016. Hematological parameters were measured by parametric and nonparametric methods using Reference Value Advisor. The RI of hematological parameters obtained in this study includes the following: the white blood cell count (WBC) (6.00–12.41 × 103/μl), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (25.70–41.03 g/dl), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) (6.65–15.48 pg), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (21.14–43.83 fl), red blood cells (RBC) (4.44–11.95 × 106/μl), hemoglobin (Hb) (7.08–11.04 g/dl), and packed cell volume (PCV) (19.53–20.43 %). The results also revealed that the low limits reference intervals of the hematological parameters in the Awassi sheep were lower than lower limits of the general reference values for all parameters except the WBC, while the upper limits were within the general reference values in three parameters (RBC, Hb, and PCV). The statistical analysis confirmed that the effect of age was not significant on all parameters whereas the effect of sex was significant (P < 0.05) on RBC and Hb where the estimations in males (8.33 × 106/μl, 11.09 g/dl) superior to females (7.19 × 106/μl, 8.89 g/dl). In conclusion, the results of this study indicated a considerable difference between reference interval of Awassi sheep and general reference values, besides the results confirmed the importance of establishing a local reference interval to be a more accurate guide to assess the animal status and to assist the clinician to reach a definitive diagnosis.