Vet World   Vol.18   July-2025  Article - 20 

Factors affecting hematological parameters in Creole goats on the Southern Coast of Peru

Jhony Soca¹ , Emmanuel Alexander Sessarego² , Pamela Sarmiento¹ , María José Cevallos-Cardenas³ , Juan Canchino-Gutierrez¹ , Jose Teran¹ , Jose Antonio Ruiz² , Juancarlos Cruz-Luis² , and Danny Julio Cruz^1,4

Background and Aim: Hematological parameters are critical indicators of health and physiological status in goats. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of location, feeding regimen, age, and body condition score (BCS) on hematological parameters in Creole goats reared under extensive systems on the southern coast of Peru and to establish context-specific reference values.

Materials and Methods: A total of 111 multiparous goats from nine herds were assessed. Red blood cell (RBC) (RBC, hematocrit, hemoglobin [HGB], mean corpuscular volume [MCV], mean corpuscular hemoglobin [MCH], and MCH concentration [MCHC]) and white blood cell (WBC) (WBC, lymphocytes, monocytes [MON], neutrophils [NEU], and eosinophils [EOS]) parameters were determined using a veterinary hematology analyzer. Robust linear regression models with MM-estimation were applied, with model selection based on Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, and root mean square error. Correlation analyses and hierarchical clustering were also performed to explore inter-parameter relationships.

Results: Significant interindividual variation was noted, particularly among leukocyte indices (EOS, MON, NEU; coefficient of variation >50%). In contrast, MCH and MCV exhibited low variability. The geographic location was not statistically significant, suggesting environmental homogeneity across the sites. Dietary composition and BCS significantly influenced several hematological indices. Goats with higher BCS and mixed alfalfa-residue diets exhibited increased HGB and RBC counts, whereas younger goats showed higher MCHC values. Predictive equations were generated to estimate hematological values under specific management conditions.

Conclusion: This study highlights the relevance of age, nutritional status, and body condition in modulating hematological values in Creole goats. The derived models and reference values can inform localized diagnostic criteria and enhance decision-making in goat health management under extensive systems. Future studies should incorporate seasonal, sex-based, and longitudinal analyses to refine predictive accuracy.

Keywords: body condition score, creole goat, extensive production system, feeding regimen, hematological parameters, Peru, robust regression.

How to cite this article: Soca J, Sessarego EA, Sarmiento P, Cevallos-Cárdenas MJ, Canchino-Gutierrez J, Teran J, Ruiz JA, Cruz-Luis J, and Cruz DJ (2025) Factors affecting hematological parameters in Creole goats on the Southern Coast of Peru, Veterinary World, 18(7): 2002–2011.

Received: 20-03-2025   Accepted: 18-06-2025   Published online: 22-07-2025

Corresponding author: Jhony Soca    E-mail: mvjsocaj@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.2002-2011

Copyright: Soca, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.