Erythrocyte, hemoglobin and hematocrit profile of Bali Cattle during the various periods of parturition

Abstract

The periparturient period is a vulnerable time for cows because they have to cope with physiological, met-abolic, hormonal, and various other factors related to environment stress. The blood representation in this period is very important to be observed because it can be used as an indicator of the health status in cows. This research aims to determine the profile of erythrocytes, hemoglobin levels and hematocrit values in Bali cattle during the peripartu-rient period. Blood samples were taken from twelve Bali cattle at last three weeks of the gestation, at parturition and three weeks after parturition. The average physiological values for total erythrocytes were 5.35±0.54, 3.61±0.34 and 4.46±1.04 (x106µl-1); mean hemoglobin 12.11±0.16, 9.31±0.66, and 10.23±2.06 g/dl and mean hematocrit 30.50±2.66, 23.83±3.18, and 25.33±2.50% during prepartum, parturition and postpartum respectively. This study shows that there was a change in blood physiological parameters with normal values decreasing at last three weeks prepartum and at parturition and again increasing at three weeks postpartum.