Comparative ameliorative effect of vitamin C, electrolyte and jaggery on transportation stress at different flocking densities in hot humid and winter seasons on erythrocytes

Abstract

Comparative study was conducted to evaluate the seasonal effects of transportation of goats (Alpine × Beetle) at different flocking densities, supplemented with vitamin C in group I, vitamin C + electrolyte in group II and jaggery in group III, 3 days before transport of animal, during winter and hot humid (HH) seasons. Goats of 10–12 months old were selected from Livestock Research Centre (LRC), National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, India, consisted of 25 goats each, divided into high flocking density (hfd; 15) and low flocking density (lfd; 10), transported for 8 h with average speed of 25 km/h. All the animals were kept off-feed and deprived of water during the transportation period. Blood samples were taken just before transportation, immediately after transportation, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 2 days post-transportation from all the three groups. The blood samples were further analysed for estimation of different haematological parameters (haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV) and red blood cell (RBC)). Maximum values (P < 0.05) of Hb, PCV and RBC were observed just after unloading which then returned to normal values within 6–12 h post-transportation at lfd and hfd in both the seasons. Supplementation with vitamin C, vitamin C + electrolyte, and jaggery aided in reducing transportation stress but vitamin C + electrolyte combination proved more beneficial in alleviating transportation stress in the goats.