Haematological and biochemical findings in pregnant, postfoaling and lactating jennies

The aims of this study were to: 1) verify if significant changes occur in hematological and biochemical parameters in jennies during the last two months of pregnancy and the first two months of lactation, and 2) determine any differences with equine species. Materials and methods. Hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated in jennies every 15 days during late pregnancy, parturition, and early lactation. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, ANOVA for repeated measurements and Tukey’s multiple comparison test as post hoc were applied. The significance level was set at p<0.05. Results. Statistical analysis showed differences related to time for RBC and HCT, WBC, PLT, total proteins (TP), blood urea, triglycerides and total cholesterol concentrations, AST, GGT, CK activities, sodium (Na) and potassium (K). Discussion and conclusions. RBC and HCT were higher in late pregnancy than at foaling and during lactation. The relative anaemia might be due to increased water ingestion due to fluid losses. The WBC count was higher at foaling than during late pregnancy and lactation. This could be related to the release of cortisol and catecholamine during delivery. The PLT trend showed lower values from delivery to the first two months of lactation compared to late gestation. Blood urea increased near parturition, and then remained constant during delivery and lactation, which might be due to the high-energy demand at the beginning of lactation. Triglycerides and total cholesterol showed a decrease from delivery through the lactation period. Thus jennies seem to have a similar metabolism of fats to ponies and draft horse mares, characterized by a greater fat content and mobilization than light breed horses. AST activity decreased at parturition and early lactation, probably due to a predominance of anabolic over catabolic processes during pregnancy. GGT activity was lower at delivery and during lactation than at late gestation. This could be due to a physiological load on the liver in the perinatal period. GGT activity was always higher than in mares, but within the normal range for adult donkeys. CK decreased near delivery, then was constant from parturition through the first two months of lactation. Na decreased during lactation, probably due to an increased renal retention mediated by aldosterone release during pregnancy. K showed the same trend as Na, and concentrations are in line with the species. The higher K during pregnancy may be due to reabsorption by the gut. TP decreased more during the post-partum period and lactation than in the gestational period.