The study of the characteristics of the feed composition of the yellow ground squirrel in the foothills of the Almaty region

Abstract

The article provides information about features of the chemical and mineral composition of the diet of ground squirrels living in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau. The study was conducted in 2020 on the foothill-steppe, foothill-dry steppe, foothill-desert pastures of festuca-bluegrass-carex, ephemeral-wormwood, sainfoins-bromus-festuca, stipa-bluegrass-wormwood, cereal-wallflower-garlic, wormwood-ceratocarpus. The main research method-the study of the fertility and chemical composition of grasses was carried out by generally accepted methods of zootechnical analysis. It was conducted in the laboratory of KazRILFP LLP (Kazakh research institute of livestock and fodder production). The chemical, mineral and nutritional properties of the food were studied and determined depending on the different growth phases. Samples of natural grasses of foothill areas of Almaty region were studied 5 times during the growing season, from May to September. Results obtained showed that, regardless of the growth zone, the nutritional value of the feed unit and the digestible protein are determined during the tube release period. Later, it decreases slightly during the earing period, and a decrease in the nutritional value of plants occurs during the flowering period and after flowering. Along with the decrease in nutritional value, the content of dry substances and fiber increases. In combination with the level of raw and digestible protein, the carotene content also decreases during the growing season of herbs. In this regard, the change in the composition of the yellow ground squirrel's diet and its value directly depend on the growing season of pasture grasses and the composition of the rodent's diet changes.