BLOOD VALUES OF THE CANVASBACK DUCK BY AGE, SEX AND SEASON

¹ Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland 20811, USA

Blood samples were obtained from canvasback ducklings from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and from immature and adult canvasbacks on the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin and the Chesapeake Bay. These samples were used to determine baseline data on red cell counts, hematocrit, total protein, glucose, cholesterol, hemaglobin and distribution of plasma proteins. Calculations were also made to determine mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. The major differences noted were between ducklings and adults. The former having higher total protein and lower hematocrit, glucose and cholesterol values. These hematologic values were collected in order to provide baseline information on apparently healthy canvasbacks, thereby providing disease investigators with a standard of comparison.