Estimation of Herbage Intake from Jackrabbit Faces

Abstract

The rate of dry weight intake of blacktailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) in northeastern Colorado was calculated from records for the rate that fecal pellets were deposited on permanent plots. The indigestibility of the native sandhill range forage was estimated from values in the literature (Arnold and Reynolds, 1943). It was estimated that if the range forage removed by jackrabbits had been eaten by yearling steers the value of the beef might have amounted to $9.35 per hectare per year (or $3.70/acre/year).