Seasonal changes of digestive functions in Japanese Sika deer (Cervus nippon).

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Recently, the Japanese sika deer(Cervus nippon)have been suggested as a candidate for domestication for the production of meat in Japan. However, little is known about the digestive functions of sika deer. The purposes in this work are to investigate the seasonal changes of the digestive functions, the seasonal palatability of roughage species and the feed intake in Japanese sika deer.(Exp. l)The mean retention time of stained hay through the whole digestive tract and its digestibility were measured on May, August, November and February in 1989 and 1990 in 5 Japanese sika deer.The feed intake of the sika deer decreased in February. In spite of the high level of feed intake in Moveiiber, the digestibilities of DN, OM, NDF and-ADF in deer were also maintained high levels. These observations for digestive functions are different from the other domestic ruminant animals.(Exp. 2)The seasonal palatability of roughage species and the feed intake were investigated using 18 Japanese sika deer(buck 1, castrated stag 7, male calf 3, doe 5, female calf 2). These sika deer were fed on sufficient alfalfa(Medicago sativa)hay cubes, orchard-grass(Dactylis glomerata)hay, eulalia(Miscanthus sinensis)hay and rice straw. The rations and water were available continuously. The feed intake were measured every ten days and the individual body weight was weighed every month through a year. It has been observed that the feed intake was gradually decreased from November and was minimum, in February. Total body weight was tended to decrease during winter period. The Japanese sika deer ate almost always alfalfa pellets, it was fed more than 98% through a year.