Dietary and Seasonal Influences on Nutritional Indices of Adult Male White-tailed Deer
Warren RJ, Kirkpatrick RL, Oelschlaeger A, Scanlon PF, Gwazdauskas FC. 1981. Dietary and Seasonal Influences on Nutritional Indices of Adult Male White-tailed Deer. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 45(4):926-936
Nutritional and seasonal influences on physiological indices of nutritional status were determined in a 1-year experiment with 10 male white-tailed deer (Odncoileus virginianus). The deer were placed on ad libitum or 0.75 ad libitum diets and sampled every 28 days. Voluntary feed intake decreased in October. Hock weights peaked in October, reached their lowest level in April, and were greater for ad libitum- than restricted-fed deer. Hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin content (MCHC) varied monthly; only ,MCHC was significantly lower in restricted- than in ad libitum-fed deer. Interactions between study months and diets were observed for blood urea nitrogen and urinary urea nitrogen/creatinine ratios. Significant seasonal variation was observed for serum cholesterol,regardless of level of feeding. Ketone-body concentrations in serum were greater for ad libitum than restricted-fed deer during the last 4 months of the study.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Warren, Robert; Kirkpatrick, Roy; Oelschlaeger, Anne; Scanlon, Patrick; Gwazdauskas, Fancis
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- ad libitum, diet adult male deer, Hemoglobin Concentration, Ketone-body concentrations, mean corpuscular hemoglobin content, packed cell volume