Short communication - BLOOD AND PLASMA VOLUMES IN NORMAL WEST AFRICAN DWARF SHEEP

Blood and plasma volumes were determined using T-1824 in 36 normal adult West African Dwarf sheep. In the rams, dry ewes, pregnant ewes and lactating ewes, the mean values for the blood volume (ml/kg body weight) were 64.08 ± 6.11, 55.74 ± 9.31, 71.46 ± 6.46 and 147.12 ± 12.79 respectively, while the mean values for the plasma volume (ml/kg body weight) were 45.70 ± 6.37, 40.16 ± 7.03, 43.10 ± 3.12 and 96.16 ± 6.55 respectively. Anaemia during pregnancy was not observed in these sheep, while as lactation advanced, the strain of lactation reduced the body weight in the lactating ewes and caused a progressive reduction in the blood and plasma volumes in these animals.