usually less sensitive to shortages. The require- 
ments presented here for game birds were 
taken mainly from Edminster (1954). Sage 
grouse drink water when it is available, but 
they can live for many days without free water 
and even without dew. However, good popu- 
lations occur only in habitats that have a sup- 
ply of free water. The sharp-tailed grouse’s 
needs are met by succulence and dew. These 
are also adequate for prairie chicken, except 
during extreme droughts. 
Bobwhite quail exist with succulence and 
dew in humid areas, but the western limit of 
their range may be determined by a lack of 
water. Water is usually no problem for the 
bobwhite within its main range, but many 
birds may die during droughts. Other than in 
the humid coastal belt, California quail require 
free water during the hot, dry summer. They 
must be within 300 yards of water during nest- 
ing and brooding. Gambel’s quail subsist on 
sueculence and dew, but on ranges that lack 
succulent plants they must have free water at 
approximately 4-mile intervals. Mountain quail 
need water close by in the summer brood pe- 
riod, and chicks must have water daily. Scaled 
quail are probably more exacting in water re- 
quirements because they feed less than other 
quail on succulent plants. They are rarely 
found more than 1 mile from free water during 
dry periods. 
Hungarian partridge subsist on dew. Chukar 
partridge require water in the summer and at 
other times when succulent vegetation is lack- 
ing. 
The eastern turkey requires drinking water, 
but the southwestern turkey can apparently 
subsist on dew and succulence. 
Doves need free water. 
Minerals 
Salt.—Sodium and chlorine help maintain 
water metabolism, osmotic pressure, acid-base 
equilibrium, and passage of nutrients into 
cells. Only a little information is available on 
the exact salt requirements of animals. Farm 
animals are usually given all the salt they 
want. Intake is usually from 0.2 to 0.6 weight- 
percent of their ration (table 2). Excessive salt 
intake can kill, but as much as 2 pounds can be 
consumed daily by cows without deleterious ef- 
fects, provided there is an abundant supply of 
good water (NAS-NRC 19638). 
Animals deprived of salt develop a craving 
and may resort to chewing wood, licking soil, 
and similar manifestations. Some range man- 
agers believe that animals may eat normally 
unpalatable, poisonous plants when deprived of 
salt. Prolonged salt deficiencies cause lack of 
appetite, unthrifty appearance, decreased feed 
consumption, and inefficient feed utilization. 
14 
Big game animals can exist without supple- 
mental salt, but they frequently use natural 
and artificial salt licks. 
Some birds require salt (Edminster 1954). 
Nestler (1949b) reports that a diet containing 
0.25 to 1 percent salt produced better quail 
weights than a salt-free diet. The amount 
needed can best be extrapolated from nutrient 
requirements of poultry (NAS-NRC 1966). 
Calcium and phosphorus.—The principal 
function of these minerals is the formation of 
a Skelton. Adequate calcium and phosphorus 
nutrition depends upon a sufficient supply of 
each element, a suitable ratio between them, 
and the presence of vitamin D. A desirable 
ratio is between 1:2 and 2:1. Adequate vitamin 
D decreases the importance of the ratio and in- 
creases the efficiency of utilization. Domestic 
herbivores need more calcium than phosphorus 
for early growth, but the ratio of the two re- 
quirements decreases as maturity is ap- 
proached (Maynard and Loosli 1956). Wild 
herbivores that annually produce antlers need 
both abundant calcium and phosphorus for this 
development. 
A depraved appetite with a specific craving 
for bones is evidence of a prolonged phosphorus 
deficiency in an animal. Symptoms of calcium 
deficiency are usually inconspicuous. 
Phosphorus deficiency in forage is wide- 
spread through the United States but, except 
in the Southeast, calcium deficiency is compar- 
atively rare. Young, growing animals have a 
much higher requirement than adults. To a 
certain extent, animals can store these ele- 
ments. Maynard and Loosli (1956) state that, 
per pound of air-dry feed, calcium require- 
ments range from 0.15 to 1 percent, and phos- 
phorus from 0.15 to 0.6 percent. The latest 
NAS-NRC standards indicate that the require- 
ments for these elements may be higher in 
some mammals and birds and in particular 
stages of growth and reproduction (table 2). 
The needs of rumen micro-organisms in 
promoting high rates of live-weight gain in 
cattle suggest minimums of 0.20 percent phos- 
phorus in finishing rations and 0.15 percent in 
other rations (NAS-NRC 1963). 
Calcium and phosphorus requirements for 
big game appear to equal or exceed those for 
livestock. White-tailed deer survived on rations 
containing 0.25-percent phosphorus and 0.30- 
percent calcium. Best antler growth, however, 
was obtained when rations contained 0.56-per- 
cent phosphorus and 0.64-percent calcium (Ma- 
gruder et al. 1957). Calcium and phosphorous 
requirements for other antler-producing big 
game probably are similar to those of white- 
tailed deer. 
Deer browse in southern forests contains 
much less than 0.25-percent phosphorus 
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