Hematologic and Serum Biochemical Characteristics of Belgian Blue Cattle

Since they have a unique phenotype, with an approximately 20% increase in muscle mass, we hypothesized that Belgian blue (BB) cows may have hematologic and biochemical characteristics that are significantly different from those of other cattle breeds. However, most available reference intervals in cattle are derived from dairy cows, mainly Holstein Friesian (HF) cows. Therefore, the aim of our study was to measure and compare biochemical and hematologic parameters in clinically healthy BB and HF cows. We studied 183 clinically healthy adult BB and HF cows. Our results confirmed that BB and HF represent different populations from a laboratory perspective. Therefore, we propose the first breed-specific reference intervals for BB, which are essential to improve the health management of this breed.