ESTIMATION OF RING-NECKED PHEASANT CONDITION WITH TOTAL BODY ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

We used total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) to estimate lean and lipid mass of wild ring.necked pheasant hens (Phasianus colchicus) (n=29) and compared the pre· dictions to models based on morphologic measurements. TOBEC predicted lean mass at 99.5% (5D=2.2%) of actual lean mass; predicted lipid mass was 106.8% (5D=l11.9%) of actual lipid mass. Hydration status and ingested foods were possible sources of experimental error. Though TOBEC was superior to morphologic measure· ments to estimate lipid mass, it may be too imprecise for field studies.