Discussion

Chickens are sensitive to dietary Fe concentrations, and Fe deficiency is known to
affect the development of the chick (Tako et al., 2010). Thus the objective of feeding
a Fe deficient semi-synthetic diet during the first 7 d post-hatching was to deplete
the Fe stores of the chick. The suggested normal values of haematological indices
for chickens are in the range of
2.6 to 3·5 × 106/µl, 7 to 13 g/dl and 22 to 35 % for RBC, Hb and Hct, respectively
(Bounous and Stedman, 2000). In the present study, although the RBC, Hb and Hct values
fell within the normal range, they were all at the lower end of the range. Additionally,
the values of haematological indices noticed at d 7 in the present study were greater than
the 6·21 g/dl Hb and 20·9% Hct levels reported previously by
Boling et al. (1998) and Biehl et al. (1997) in chicks fed on a Fe-deficient (
20 mg Fe/kg) dextrose-casein basal diet.