Thomas G. Barnes

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) grasslands do not provide quality habitat for northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Converting tall fescue fields to other cool-season grasses and legumes (CSG) may provide more favorable wildlife habitat. We evaluated the effectiveness of spring and fall pre-emergence Round-Up PRO” applications with and without prescribed burns for eradicating tall fescue and establishing CSGs. Two tall fescue fields were located in western Kentucky. Prescribed burns, herbicide applications, and CSG seedings were applied in 2 0.05-ha treatment plots during spring...

Two completely randomized design studies were conducted from May 1986 through June 1987 with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to determine seasonal mineral absorption patterns of guajillo (Acacia berlandieri) and a pelleted diet. The pelleted diet contained 0.56% phosphorus (P), 2.57% calcium (Ca), 0.31% magnesium (Mg), 2.25% sodium (Na), 1.63% potassium (K), 9.6 ppm copper (Cu), 45.0 ppm zinc (Zn), and 314.8 ppm iron (Fe). Calcium and P from the pelleted diet were absorbed in a 2:1 ratio. There were no seasonal differences in mineral absorption of the pelleted diet. The data...

We investigated 4 in vitro digestion procedures to estimate dry matter, energy, and apparent protein digestibilities of 2 southern Texas white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) forages. Standard 2-stage rumen inoculum technique consistently underestimated in vivo dry matter digestibility by 1% to 9%, but could be corrected to in vivo values by regression analyses (R2 = 0.89). This technique also predicted digestible energy (kcal/g) and digestible protein (g/100g feed) accurately (R2 = 0.84 and 0.71, respectively). Cellulase, pepsin, or multienzyme techniques did not predict dry matter,...