CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GENERAL BLOOD ANALYSIS INDICATORS IN NORM AND WITH DYSPEPSIA OF CALVES

The purpose of research is to characterize the general blood test in clinically healthy calves and in calves with signs of dyspepsia. The studies were carried out in the farms of the Trans-Baikal Territory in the period 2020–2022. The research material was 2 groups of Hereford calves from birth to 10 days of age: group 1 – clinically healthy calves; group 2 – with signs of dyspepsia. During a clinical examination, sick calves showed depression, decreased appetite and motor activity, diarrhea, increased body temperature up to 40.5–41 ± 0.18 °C, weakness of the limbs, shortness of breath (149 ± 3.2 beats/min), the abdomen was painful on palpation. A hematological analyzer PSE 90 Vet was used to conduct a complete blood count. In the group of healthy calves, all blood parameters corresponded to the physiological norm of healthy animals. In calves of the second group, the parameters indicated the presence of an inflammatory process in the body, as evidenced by an increase in the total number of leukocytes (WBC) by 55.5 % (p < 0.01), an increase in the content of lymphocytes (LYM) up to 78.7 ± 4.50 % (p < 0.01), which is 4.9 % higher than the upper limit of the normal value and 36.2 % higher than the average blood index of the animals of the first group. The number of erythrocytes (RBC) was below the physiological norm by 16.0 % (p < 0.05), while there was an increase in the values of the mean erythrocyte volume (MCV) by 13.3 % (p < 0.01) and ESR up to 2, 9 mm/h, which indicates the hypotonic nature of water and electrolyte imbalance observed in dyspepsia. The content of hemoglobin (HGB) was within the reference values, the color index (MCH) corresponded to normochromia. The degree of erythrocyte hemoglobin saturation (MCHC) in animals of the second group was lower by 6.7 % compared to healthy calves. An increase in hematocrit (HCT) by 4.24 % indicates cell dehydration, which is typical for dyspeptic conditions of the body due to the loss of water by the body.