Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T12:32:14.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of sward height on grazing behaviour and herbage intake of three sizes of Charolais cattle grazing cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) swards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. Ferrer Cazcarra ,
M. Petit  and
P. D'hour
R. Ferrer Cazcarra
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Adaptation des Herbivores aux Milieux, INRA, Theix, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
M. Petit
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Adaptation des Herbivores aux Milieux, INRA, Theix, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
P. D'hour
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Adaptation des Herbivores aux Milieux, INRA, Theix, 63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
Get access

Abstract

Mature non-lactating cows, 18-month-old heifersand7-month-oldfemale calves of the Charolais breed (eight animals of each age) were strip-grazedon short (S, sward surface height: 7·5 cm), medium (M,10·2 cm) and tall (T, 21·1 cm) cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) swards at a daily herbage allowance of 40 g dry matter per kg live weight over three 15-day experimental periods. The swards were leafy regrowths of 1 (S), 2 (M)and 3·5 (T)weeks of age. Herbage intake was estimated by the n-alkane method, and grazing behaviour was recorded visually.

Intakes per kg live weight of calves and heifers were higher than those of cows on all swards(P < 0·01). Calves tended to maintain intake, whereas cows and heifers reduced their intake as sward height decreased. Bite weight decreased linearly with sward height, this decrease being greater for larger animals (P < 0·001). As sward height decreased, the scaling factor of bite weight to live weight decreased. Biting rates increased as sward height decreased (P < 0·001) and were lower in calves than in older cattle (P < 0·001). Calves had lower intake rates per kg live weight than cows in T swards, and the reverse was true in S swards (P < 0·001). Younger cattle always grazed longer than cows, but differences were reduced as sward height decreased (P < 0·01). Cows and heifers wereunable to increase their grazing time sufficiently to compensate for lower intake rates in S and M swards, resulting in reduced herbage intakes. Faecal markers and grazing behaviour suggested a greater selectivity by calves compared with older cattle.

Keywords

agebody sizecattlegrazing behaviourintakesward height
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , December 1995 , pp. 511 - 518
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agabriel, J., Giraud, J. M. and Petit, M. 1986. Détermination et utilisation de la note d'état d'engraissement en éllevage allaitant. Bulletin Technique du C.R.Z.V. de Theix 66: 43–50.Google Scholar
Allden, W. G. and Whittaker, A. M. 1970. The determinants of herbage intake by grazing sheep: the interrelationship of factors influencing herbage intake and availability. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 21: 755–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, G. W. 1981. In Grazing animals (ed. Morley, F. H. W.), World Animal Science B1, pp. 79–104. Elsevier Scientific, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Aufrère, J. and Michalet-Doreau, B. 1988. Comparaison of methods for predicting digestibility of feeds. Animal Feed, Science and Technology 20: 203–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, R. D., Alvarez, F. and Le Du, Y. L. P. 1981. The herbage intake and performance of set-stocked suckler cows and calves. Grass and Forage Science 36: 201–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barthram, G. T. 1986. Experimental techniques: the HFRO swardstick. Biennial report, Hill Farming Research Organisation, 1984–85, pp. 29–30.Google Scholar
Clutton-Brock, T. H. and Harvey, P. H. 1983. The fuctional significance of variation in body size among mammals. Special Publication of the American Society of Mammologists no. 7, pp. 632–663.Google Scholar
Demment, M. W. and Greenwood, G. B. 1988. Forage ingestion: effects of sward characteristics and body size. Journal of Animal Science 66: 2380–2392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dumont, B., D'hour, P. and Petit, M. 1995. The usefulness of grazing tests for studying the ability of sheep and cattle to exploit reproductive patches at pasture. Applied Animal Behaviour Science In press.Google Scholar
Ferrer Cazcarra, R. and Petit, M. 1995. The influence of animal age and sward height on the herbage intake and grazing behaviour of Charolais cattle. Animal Science 61: 497–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forbes, J. M. 1986. The voluntary food intake of farm animals. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Gillet, M. 1980. Les graminees fourragères (ed. Pesson, P.), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Bordas, Paris.Google Scholar
Greenwood, G. B. and Demment, M. W. 1988. The effect of fasting on short-term cattle grazing behaviour. Grass and Forage Science 43: 377–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, J. 1985. The control of herbage intake in the grazing ruminant. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 44: 339–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgson, J., Forbes, T. D. A., Armstrong, R. H., Beattie, M. M. and Hunter, E. A. 1991. Comparative studies of the ingestive behaviour and herbage intake of sheep and cattle grazing indigenous hill plant communities. Journal of Applied Ecology 28: 205–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, J. and Jamieson, W. S. 1981. Variations in herbage mass and digestibility, and the grazing behaviour and herbage intake of adult cattle and weaned calves. Grass and Forage Science 36: 39–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illius, A. W. and Gordon, I. J. 1987. The allometry of food intake in grazing ruminants. Journal of Animal Ecology 56: 989–999.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamieson, W. S. and Hodgson, J. 1979. The effect of daily herbage allowance and sward characteristics upon the ingestive behaviour and herbage intake of calves under strip-grazing management. Grass and Forage Science 34: 261–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laca, E. A., Ungar, E. D., Seligman, N. and Demment, M. W. 1992. Effects of sward height and bulk density on bite dimensions of cattle grazing homogeneous swards. Grass and Forage Science 47: 91–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Du, Y. L. P. and Baker, R. D. 1981. The digestibility of herbage selected by oesophageally fistulated cows, steer calves and wether sheep strip-grazing together. Grass and Forage Science 36: 237–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayes, R. W., Lamb, C. S. and Colgrove, P. M. 1986. The use of dosed and herbage n-alkanes as markers for the determination of herbage intake. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 107: 161–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, A. J., Thornley, J. H. M., Newman, J. and Penning, P. D. 1994. A mechanistic model of some physical determinants of intake rate and diet selection in a two species temperate grassland sward. Functional Ecology 8: 187–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penning, P. D. and Hooper, G. E. 1985. Measurement of behaviour in grazing cattle. Annual Report, Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, 1984/85.Google Scholar
Penning, P. D., Parsons, A. J., Orr, R. J. and Treacher, T. T. 1991. Intake and behaviour responses by sheep to changes in sward characteristics under continuous stocking. Grass and Forage Science 46: 15–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, C. J. C. and Leaver, J. D. 1986. Seasonal and diurnal variation in the grazing behaviour of dairy cows. In Grazing (ed. , Frame), pp. 98–104.Google Scholar
Rook, A. J., Huckle, C. A. and Penning, P. D. 1994. Effects of sward height and concentrate supplementation on the ingestive behaviour of spring-calving dairy cows grazing grass-clover swards. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 40: 101–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1988. SAS/STAT user's guide, Release 6.03 edition, pp. 549–640. Statistical Analysis Systems Institute, Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Vulich, S. A. and Hanrahan, J. P. 1990. Determination of herbage and faecal n-alkane concentrations: sources of sampling variation. Proceedings of the seventh European grazing workshop, Wagcningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Zoby, J. L. F. and Holmes, W. 1983. The influence of size of animal and stocking rate on the herbage intake and grazing behaviour of cattle. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 100: 139–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar