Energy intake of farmed fallow deer of two genotypes during pregancy, lactation, and growth to slaughter weight

Daily energy intake was measured for European (E) and hybrid (H) (3/4 European and 1/4 Mesopotamian) fallow deer bucks, does and castrated bucks, and pregnant and lactating does. There was no difference in energy intake between E and H deer in any of the groups, but H deer grew faster than E deer for each of the three sex classes (p<0.05). The energy intake during early lactation was double the requirement for the second and third trimester of pregnancy. By 16 weeks of age fallow deer fawns had an energy intake equivalent to that of a non-pregnant adult fallow doe. It was concluded that the crossbreeding system described is production efficient. Furthermore, these data confirm the importance of strategic feeding of fallow does in late pregnancy and lactation.