Animal Sciences Commons^™

Energy Content Of Seeds Of Palmer’S Pigweed (Amaranthus Palmeri) In The Diet Of Scaled Quail (Callipepla Squamata) In Southeastern New Mexico, John L. Hunt, Matthew E. Grilliot, Troy L. Best, Isaac C. Castillo, Paige E. Eddington, Faith A. Johnson, Tyneshia L. Kilgore, Jacob H. Courson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Palmer’s pigweed (Amaranthus palmeri) is a common grassland plant that occurs across much of North America. It is often considered a weed but is an important source of food for many game birds. We analyzed the energy content of seeds of Palmer’s pigweed obtained from the crops of scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) collected from plains-mesa sand-scrub habitat in Eddy and Lea counties, New Mexico. Seeds were dried for 48 hours at 60°C to remove moisture and then analyzed for gross caloric value (i.e., energy content) in an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Energy content of seeds of Palmer’s …