Normal blood chemistry of the Houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)

Blood samples were obtained from two sub-species of captive houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata undulata and Chlamydotis undulara macqueenii) in order to establish normal blood chemistry reference values. The two sub-species were housed under the same conditions, the only difference being that C. u. undulata were fed exclusively on concentrated feed (in the form of pellets) and C. u. macqueenii were fed on a mixture of concentrated feed, minced meat and mixed vegetables/fruits. Twenty one different tests were conducted using a Kodak Ektachem DT II dry-chemistry system. Significant differences between the two sub-species were found for glucose, creatinine, total bilirubin, total protein, albumin, globulin, albumin/globulin ratio, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, ammonia, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, cholesterol and triglycerides. The results obtained from this study provide important reference blood chemistry values for the two sub-species and demonstrate a possible effect of different dietary regimes or simply a genotypic variation between the sub-species.