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1 July 1995 VITAMIN A STATUS OF WILD MALLARDS (ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS) WINTERING IN SASKATCHEWAN
Sandra Honour, Sean Kennedy, Suzanne Trudeau, Gary Wobeser
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Abstract

Vitamin A status of wild male mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) overwintering in Saskatchewan, Canada was determined. Vitamin A levels <0.2μg hepatic retinyl palmitate/g liver, occurred in 6% and 25% of male mallards sampled in 1991 to 1992 and 1992 to 1993, respectively. There was no temporal trend in vitamin A levels over either winter. Squamous metaplastic lesions, commonly associated with vitamin A deficiency in domestic animals, were not observed in any bird; hence, they were not a good indicator of vitamin A status in wild mallards. Serum retinol was not a good indicator of vitamin A status in wild mallards. Many mallards in good body condition had low vitamin A levels; thus, we propose that good body condition and ample fat stores are not indicative of overall health of the bird.

Honour, Kennedy, Trudeau, and Wobeser: VITAMIN A STATUS OF WILD MALLARDS (ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS) WINTERING IN SASKATCHEWAN
Sandra Honour, Sean Kennedy, Suzanne Trudeau, and Gary Wobeser "VITAMIN A STATUS OF WILD MALLARDS (ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS) WINTERING IN SASKATCHEWAN," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 31(3), 289-298, (1 July 1995). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-31.3.289
Received: 16 June 1994; Published: 1 July 1995
KEYWORDS
Anas platyrhynchos
body condition
mallard
retinol
retinyl palmitate
vitamin A deficiency
winter
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