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.