Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences (Jan 2014)
Maintenance Crude Protein Requirement of Penned Female Korean Spotted Deer ()
Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the protein requirement for maintenance of 2-year-old female Korean spotted deer. In the course of the experiment, each of three hand-reared female spotted deer was fed three diets that were iso-calorically formulated to contain low (approximately 7%), medium (12%), and high (17%) levels of crude protein (CP). Each of six trials included a 5-day transition, a 10-day preliminary, and a 7-day collection period. Dietary protein levels affected the apparent digestibility of CP (p<0.05) but not the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, or acid detergent fiber. All of the deer showed a positive CP balance on all of the diets. The maintenance CP requirement estimated by regression analysis was 4.17 g/kg metabolic body weight (W0.75)·d. The maintenance digestible CP requirement was 1.42 g/kg W0.75·d. The metabolic fecal CP was 1.95 g/kg W0.75·d. The blood urea nitrogen of spotted deer increased (p<0.05) as the dietary protein levels increased.
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