FECAL NITROGEN AND DIETARY QUALITY RELATIONSHIPS IN JUVENILE ELK

Dietary quality influences growth and condition of juvenile ruminants. Fecal nitrogen potentially provides a noninvasive measure of dietary quality, but fecal nitrogen-dietary relationships in juvenile ruminant s are unknown. We used 6 hand-reared juvenile elk (Cervus elaphus) to investigate relationships between fecal nitrogen and milk intake, soli d food intake, and nutrient content of solid food during the first 6 m onths of life. Fecal nitrogen declined from 4.2%, before consumption o f solid food began, to 2.2% when solid food made up 80% of total daily intake in late summer. Fecal nitrogen was not related (P > 0.05) to m ilk consumption in calves consuming only milk. After solid food consum ption began, relationships between fecal nitrogen and dietary quality were confounded by growth and development of the alimentary tract and dietary shifts from milk to solid food. Fecal nitrogen should not be u sed as an index of dietary quality for juvenile elk during summer and fall.