Effect of pregnancy on some hematological and biochemical parameters in pregnant Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis)

The hematological and biochemical parameters of endangered wildlife during gestation can provide knowledge of normal physical conditions and recognition of every event, thus contributing to conservation and management. For better breeding management of a Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) reintroduced population, a series of hematological parameters were tested and analyzed, viz. white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), packed-cell volume (PCV), platelet count (PLT), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean red blood cell distribution width co-efficient of variation (RDW), and different serum biochemical parameters, e.g. total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB), albumin to globulin ratio (A/G), total bilirubin (TBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), AST/ALT, creatinine, urea (BUN), uric acid (URIC), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and cortisol. The WBC value of pregnant does was significantly lower than that of non-pregnant does, while the concentrations of TC and TBIL were both significantly higher than those of non-pregnant does. The changes in hematological and serum biochemical parameters during pregnancy can be not only used for health monitoring and disease diagnosis and reference for Chinese water deer, but can also be referred for other cervids.