Nutrient atlas of reindeer forage plants on the Seward Peninsula
Because reindeer have high growth rates during the summer, small differences in forage nutrient quality can dramatically affect growth and body size. To maximize weight gain, produce heavier carcasses and generate higher profits, it is important that reindeer producers graze their animals in locations with high-quality forage. The vegetation communities of the Seward Peninsula have been inventoried and converted to digitized maps that are usable in a geographic information system. Biomass of vascular plants has been determined for these plant communities and samples of reindeer forage plants at various stages of growth have been analyzed for nutrient composition. This data has been integrated into an interactive mapping program that is capable of generating daily nutrient maps of reindeer ranges, making it possible to identify the most productive areas of a range at any given point in the growing season. It is available to Seward Peninsula producers via a designated website on the internet.
Locally produced feed ingredients for use in captive reindeer diets.
Reindeer can be successfully raised in captivity. However, the cost of shipping feed to Alaska makes the economic success of an intensively managed reindeer herd difficult. By using locally and regionally available ingredients, there is potential to develop a ration that is both cost effective and nutritionally complete. Following is a list of several projects that examine the merit of various feedstuffs both in terms of palatability and animal performance when incorporated into a complete ration.
- Growth rates of reindeer fed diets formulated with Thual barley or Finaska barley.
- Reindeer preference for diets using soybean meal, whitefish meal or salmon meal as protein supplement.
- Growth rates of reindeer fed whitefish meal or salmon meal supplemented diets.
- Reindeer preference for diets made with Thual barley or Albright barley.
- Palatability of reindeer diets supplemented with fish bone meal.Growth rates of reindeer fed soybean meal or whitefish meal supplemented diets.
- Optimal soybean meal supplementation rate in winter reindeer diets.
- Milk composition and growth rates of reindeer fed a soybean meal or fishmeal supplemented diet.
- Optimal fertilization rate and cutting regime for Smooth Bromegrass hay production for use in reindeer diets.
- Growth rates of reindeer fed milled ration and grazed on Smooth Bromegrass or Kentucky Bluegrass pasture.
