Abstract:
Angora goats in South Africa experience several syndromes that result in notable morbidity and mortality in juveniles and adults,
but not kids. Insight into their causes is hampered by the lack of normal reference values for this breed, and the present study
therefore aimed to characterise (1) differences in the haematology of healthy kids at birth and weaning, and (2) the haematology
of apparently healthy yearlings. Selected variables were measured by blood smear analysis, and complete blood counts were
performed using an ADVIA 2120i. Variables at 1, 11, and 20 weeks of age were compared using the Friedman test and associations
between variables of yearlings were determined by correlation analysis. In kids, red blood cell count, mean corpuscular
haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and poikilocytosis increased over time, while mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and
mean corpuscular volume (MCV) decreased. Yearlings displayed a lower MCHC, and higher haemoglobin distribution width than
previously reported for goats, and these were positively correlated with poikilocytosis, as were reticulocyte counts. White cell
counts of yearlings exceeded normal values previously reported for goats, with some individuals displaying remarkably high
mature neutrophil counts. Changes in haemoglobin variant expression or cation and water fluxes are possible explanations for the
findings in kids, while in yearlings, the associations between MCHC, HDW, poikilocytosis, and reticulocytosis suggest alterations in
red cell hydration in adulthood that are associated with increased red cell turnover. These findings may prove informative in the
further investigation of various clinical syndromes in this population.
