Copper and Iron in the Blood Serum of Dairy Cows

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Abstract
Observations were obtained on normal values for blood serum Cu, serum Fe, Hb, and red cell vol. in dairy cows. In a 43 factorial design, influence of breed (Ayrshire, Holstein, Guernsey, and Jersey) and age (4-6 mo., 12-18 mo,, 2-2.5 yrs., 4-7 yrs.) were studied with one animal in each breed-age class. Samples were obtained from all animals 4 times between Jan. 2, 1942 and Mar. 26, c946. No evidence was obtained that serum Fe changes with age. Serum Cu increased significantly with age, varying from 85-114 [gamma]/IOO ml. of serum. Both Hb and cell volume increased with age, ranging from 9.08-10.64 g./100 ml. of blood and 29.37-34.53%, respectively. There was no significant difference among breeds with respect to any of the measurements. For all measurements except cell vol. there was a pronounced variation from date to date. This variation was irregular, with ranges as follows: serum Fe, 130.3 to 183.9 [gamma]/100 ml.; serum Cu, 87.8 to 116.3 [gamma]/100 ml.; Hb, 9.44-10.07 g./lOO ml.; and red cell vol., 30.94-32.94%. No evidence was obtained that serum Fe and Cu were correlated. The mean values obtained for serum Fe, serum Cu, Hb and cell vol. were 100 [gamma]/100 ml., 162 [gamma]/103 ml., 9.9 g./lOO ml. and 32% of total vol., respectively.
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