Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Vet Q. 2023 Dec;43(1):1-10. doi: 10.1080/01652176.2023.2249072.
Recent research focused on farmed deer has exposed many knowledge gaps regarding health assessment protocols for white-tailed deer (WTD). The objectives of this study were to establish de novo blood analyte reference intervals for farmed WTD fawns at birth (1-2 days of age; = 84) and again at weaning (76-125 days of age; = 28), to compare data at birth and at weaning to understand how these analytes are affected by the intrinsic factors age and sex in clinically normal WTD fawns, and to compare between clinically normal and sick WTD weanlings (respiratory disease = 12; orbivirus-infected = 6). Reference intervals were established for WTD fawns at birth and weaning. Female WTD neonates had significantly higher red blood cell counts, hematocrit, and hemoglobin compared to males. Most blood analytes were significantly different in clinically normal WTD neonates compared to weanlings, suggesting an effect of age. The observed sex- and age-related variations in WTD highlight the need to establish reference intervals that account for intrinsic factors. The comparison of clinically normal and sick WTD weanlings in this study identified higher MCHC and absolute monocytes in sick weanlings but these findings were presumably not biologically relevant given the small sample size for sick fawns. While the reference interval data presented herein will be useful for the veterinary care of WTD fawns at critical time periods in a high-density farm setting, this study also demonstrates the need to identify more sensitive and specific biomarkers for the assessment of health status in farmed WTD with specific underlying diseases.
最近对养殖鹿的研究揭示了许多关于白尾鹿（WTD）健康评估方案的知识空白。本研究的目的是为养殖 WTD 幼鹿在出生时（1-2 天龄；=84）和断奶时（76-125 天龄；=28）建立新的血液分析物参考区间，比较出生时和断奶时的数据，以了解这些分析物如何受到年龄和性别等内在因素的影响，临床正常 WTD 幼鹿，并比较临床正常和患病 WTD 断奶幼鹿（呼吸道疾病=12；orbivirus 感染=6）之间的差异。为 WTD 幼鹿在出生和断奶时建立了参考区间。雌性 WTD 新生儿的红细胞计数、血细胞比容和血红蛋白明显高于雄性。与断奶幼鹿相比，大多数血液分析物在临床正常的 WTD 新生儿中差异显著，这表明年龄的影响。本研究观察到的 WTD 性别和年龄相关的变化突出表明需要建立考虑内在因素的参考区间。本研究比较了临床正常和患病的 WTD 断奶幼鹿，发现患病断奶幼鹿的 MCHC 和绝对单核细胞较高，但由于患病幼鹿的样本量较小，这些发现可能没有生物学意义。虽然本文提供的参考区间数据将有助于在高密度养殖场为 WTD 幼鹿在关键时期提供兽医护理，但本研究还表明需要确定更敏感和特异性的生物标志物，以评估具有特定潜在疾病的养殖 WTD 的健康状况。
