Abstract
Blood biochemistry in poultry is an understudied area, requiring the establishment of reference intervals (RIs) to monitor health and metabolism effectively across different life stages. To broaden and complete the spectrum of parameters encountered in animal medicine, we pursued two main objectives: first, to establish the comprehensive spectrum of blood RIs for Ross 308 male chickens, and second, to investigate potential age-specific differences in broilers from the onset of their lives. A total of 228 blood samples from 35-day-old broilers were analysed to determine RIs for key metabolism indicators, including ALT (0.0-0.4 µkat/l), AST (1.4-5.7 µkat/l), GMT (0.2-0.5 µkat/l), ALP (13.3-281.9 µkat/l), LD (14.2-112.6 µkat/l), CK (94.9-925.6 µkat/l), TBili (1.8-7.3 µmol/l), Urea (0.7-2.7 mmol/l), Creat (16.7-37.7 µmol/l), Uric Acid (140.0-594.6 µmol/l), Total protein (24.7-37.1 g/l), Albumin (13.0-21.4 g/l), Globulin (10.3-19.0 g/l), Glucose (5.8-15.1 mmol/l), Cholesterol (2.3-4.1 mmol/l), TG (0.2-1.2 mmol/l). Furthermore, we monitored mineral, nitrogen, fat, and energy metabolism parameters weekly from day 1 to day 35 of chick age to assess biochemical dynamics. Significant age-related variations were found in most parameters, particularly during the first week after hatching (P < 0.05). The only stable indicators throughout the observation were creatinine and potassium (P > 0.05). These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of broiler physiology, enhance the precision of blood testing interpretations, and offer the potential for the early detection of metabolic disorders or diseases.