HAEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF THE ONE-HUMPED CAMEL SUBJECTED TO PACKING (LOAD-CARRYING) IN THE HARMATTAN SEASON IN THE SEMI-ARID REGION OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effects of packing on some haematological responses in the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) during the harmattan season in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria. The study was conducted using 8 experimental camels which were packed with bags of grains of 200 kg, while 4 camels served as the control group only trekked but were not packed. Ambient temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) of the experimental site were recorded three days prior to the experiment and on the experimental day at 06.00 h, 12.00 h and 15.00 h. Some haematological parameters were determined in all the camels. The mean AT and RH values ranged between 22-36.50 ºC and 26-36 %, respectively. The erythrocyte count, TP and PCV values were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in experimental camels than control camels after the experiment. The changes recorded in some of the parameters demonstrated that compensatory mechanisms were adopted by the camels to reduce the adverse effects of stress of packing. It is therefore recommended that a potent antioxidant should be administered to camels before subjecting them to packing to ameliorate the effects of stress of packing.