Abstract
The digestibility and nitrogen balance in Yeso sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) fed the round baled hay.the alfalfa hay cube or the round baled silage were compared with those in sheep according to total collection method of feces and urine. The daily dry matter (DM) intake in Yeso sika deer and sheep was 1.5-2.2% of the body weight. Water intake per metabolic body weight of Yeso sika deer varied between the individuals, but averaged values of the deer appeared not to be different from that of the sheep throughout the three diets. Within the same diet, the urinary excretion per metabolic body weight of Yeso sika deer was 1.7-3.3 times larger as much as that of sheep. Within the same diet, Yeso sika deer had lower digestibilities of crude fiber and hemicellulose than sheep. The digestibile crude protein (DCP), total digestible nutrients (TDN) or digestible energy (DE) contents of the three diets were not different between Yeso sika deer and sheep. In the diets of alfalfa hay cube or round baled silage, one of Yeso sika deer examined, as excreted greatly more urine, had higher excretion of urinary nitrogen per metabolic body weight than did sheep. As this result, both amount of retained nitrogen and rate of retained nitrogen expressed as the percentage of ingested and digested nitrogen were lower for such deer than for sheep. However, there was little differences in the amount and the rate of retained nitrogen between Yeso sika deer except for the high urinary excreted deer and sheep.
