The interaction between factors that affect the daily time spent grazing by ruminants

Citation

Finegan EJ, Atkinson JL, Buchanan-Smith JG, Cant JP. 2001. The interaction between factors that affect the daily time spent grazing by ruminants. In Edwards M, Lisi KJ, Schlegel ML, Bray RE, Eds., Proceedings of the Fourth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Abstract

The animal-plant interaction between grazing ruminants and the grasses and forbs that make up temperate pasture swards is complex. The interaction is ultimately expressed in each mouthful of herbage (bite) ingested by the grazing animal. Each bite is characterised by quantity (bite weight), quality (species composition, plant part, plant maturity), and the time taken to apprehend, crop, chew and swallow (bite rate). The sum of all bites taken during a 24-hour period defines both the quantity and quality of total nutrient intake by the animal for that day.

Finegan-GrazingTimeinRuminants.pdf     1 MB