Predicting the digestibility of winter deer browse from its proximate composition

Abstract

Digestion data obtained from feeding trials with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were analyzed for their relationship to concentration of protein, crude fiber, ether extract, nitrogen-free extract, and gross energy. Multiple regression analyses showed a significant relationship between digestible dry matter, digestible energy, metabolizable energy, digestible ether extract, digestible nitrogen-free extract, and different combinations of the above-mentioned proximate components. Predictive equations are presented for each of these variables. The multiple regression of digestible energy had a standard error representing ± 9% of the estimated mean, while this value for metabolizable energy was ± 12%. The between-animal variation determined during actual Feeding trials was about ± 15% for deer consuming the same browse. The equation for predicting metabolizable energy should have practical use in providing an estimate of winter browse nutritional quality.