Dietary Calcium and First Antler Development in White-Tailed Deer

摘要

Using a basal diet with a phosphorus (P) concentration comparable to that foundin moderate quality deer browse. To establish whether the best antlers are produced by: (1) calcium concentrations that are 2.5 x P concentration and (2) calcium concentrations that are 5.0 x P concentration. Sixteen weaned buck fawns will be allotted randomly from pairs of similar weight to one of the two diets shown in Table 1. Weights will be taken on September 1, 1993 and in the fall of 1994, after antler rub-out. Blood samples will be taken on those two occasions for determination of serum calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase. Boone and Crockett measurements will be made on the antlers, and the antlers will be removed, weighed, their specific gravity determined, and then analyzed for ash, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.