An improved method for quantifying intake rate and ingestive behaviour of ruminants in diverse and variable habitats using direct observation

Small Ruminant Research

Volumn 54, Issue 1-2, 2004, Pages 99-113

  Agreil, C ^a   Meuret, M ^a  

^a INRA Ecodeveloppement   (France)

Author keywords

Feeding behaviour; Grazing behaviour; Intake kinetics; On farm recordings

Indexed keywords

ANIMALIA; BOVIDAE; CAPRA HIRCUS; OVIS; QUERCUS;

EID: 3142706188     PISSN: 09214488     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2003.10.013     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Abijaoudé J.A., Morand-Fehr P., Béchet G., Brun J.P., Tessier J., Sauvant D. A method to record the feeding behaviour of goats. Small Rumin. Res. 33:1999;213-221
2. Agreil, C., Meuret, M., in preparation. Maintenance of daily intake in small ruminant foraging in heterogeneous vegetation: use of plant parts diversity and continuous adjustment of instantaneous bite mass and bite frequency.
3. Allden W.G., Whittaker I.A. The determinants of herbage intake by grazing sheep: the interrelationship of factors influencing herbage intake and availability. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 21:1970;755-766
4. Altman J. Observational study of behaviour: sampling methods. Behaviour. 9:1974;227-265
5. Aufrere J. Etude de la prévision de la digestibilité des fourrages par une méthode enzymatique (Prediction of forage digestibility by means of an enzymatic procedure). Ann. Zootech. 31:1982;111-130. (in French with English abstract)
6. Baumont R., Champciaux P., Agabriel J., Andrieu J., Aufrère J., Michalet-Doreau B., Demarquilly C. Une démarche intégrée pour prévoir la valeur des aliments pour les ruminants: PrévAlim pour INRAtion (An integrated tool to predict feed value for ruminants: PrévAlim for INRAtion). INRA Prod. Anim. 12:1999;183-194. (in French with English abstract)
7. Baumont R., Prache S., Meuret M., Morand-Fehr P. How forage characteristics influence behaviour and intake in small ruminants: a review. Livest. Prod. Sci. 64:2000;15-28
8. Bergman C.M., Fryxell J.M., Gates C.C., Fortin D. Ungulate foraging strategies: energy maximizing or time minimizing? J. Anim. Ecol. 70:2001;289-300
9. Bourbouze A. Utilisation d'un parcours forestier pâturé par des caprins (Goats grazing on woody rangeland). Fourrages. 82:1980;121-144
10. Currie P.O., Reichert D.W., Malecheck J.C., Wallmo O.C. Forage selection comparisons for mule deer and cattle on the managed Ponderosa Pine. J. Range. Manage. 30:1977;352-356
11. Dardenne, P., 1990. Contribution à l'utilisation de la spectrométrie dans le proche infrarouge pour l'étude de critères de qualité des céréales et des fourrages (Contribution to the use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy for studying crops and forages quality criteria). PhD Dissertation. University of Gembloux, 224 pp. (in French).
12. Dardenne, P., Sinnaeve, G., Biston, R., Lecomte, P., 1991. Fresh grass analysis by NIR spectroscopy. In: Proceedings of the Fourth International NIRS, Aberdeen, Belgium, pp. 277-283.
13. Delagarde R., Caudal J.-P., Peyraud J.-L. Development of an automatic bitemeter for grazing cattle. Ann. Zootech. 48:1999;329-339
14. Dulphy J.-P., Baumont R., L'Hotelier L., Demarquilly C. Amélioration de la mesure et de la prévision de l'ingestibilité des fourrages chez le mouton par la prise en compte des variations de la capacité d'ingestion à l'aide d'un fourrage témoin (Improvement of the measurement and prediction of forage ingestibility in sheep by taking into account the variations of their intake capacity using a standard forage). Ann. Zootech. 48:1999;469-476. (in French with English abstract)
15. Dumont B., Meuret M., Prud'Hon M. Direct observation of biting for studying grazing behaviour of goats and llamas on garrigue rangelands. Small Rumin. Res. 16:1995;27-35
16. Dumont B., Boissy A. Impact of social relations on grazing behaviour in herbivores. INRA Prod. Anim. 12:1999;3-10. (in French with English abstract)
17. Dumont B., Meuret M., Boissy A., Petit M. Le pâturage vu par l'animal: mécanismes comportementaux et applications en élevage (Grazing from the animals' point of view: behavioural mechanisms and applications to animal husbandry). Fourrages. 166:2001;213-238. (in French with English abstract)
18. Forbes T.D.A. Researching the plant-animal interface: the investigation of ingestive behaviour in grazing animals. J. Anim. Sci. 66:1988;2369-2379
19. Genin D., Villca Z., Abasto P. Diet selection and utilization by llama and sheep in a high altitude-arid rangeland of Bolivia. J. Range. Manage. 47:1994;245-248
20. Ginane C., Baumont R., Lassealas J., Petit M. Feeding behaviour and intake by heafers fed on hays of various quality, offered alone or in a choice situation. Anim. Res. 51:2002;177-188
21. Ginnett T.F., Demment M.W. The functional response of herbivores: analysis and test of a simple mechanistic model. Funct. Ecol. 9:1995;376-384
22. Gordon I.J. Animal-based techniques for grazing ecology research. Small Rumin. Res. 16:1995;203-214
23. Hervieu, B., 2002. Multifunctionality: a conceptual framework for a new organisation of research and development on grasslands and livestock system. In: Durant, J.L., Emile, J.C., Huyghe, C., Lemaire, G. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, La Rochelle, France, p. 1.
24. Illius, A.W., Hodgson, J., 1996. Progress in understanding the ecology and management of grazing systems. In: Hodgson, J., Illius, A.W. (Eds.), The Ecology and Management of Grazing Systems. CAB International, Oxon, UK, pp. 429-458.
25. Kohlmann S.G., Matis J.H., Risenhoover K.L. Estimating handling times for herbivore diets: a statistical method using the gamma distribution. J. Anim. Ecol. 68:1999;638-645
26. Launchbaugh, K.L., 1996. Biochemical aspects of grazing behaviour. In: Hodgson, J., Illius, A.W. (Eds.), The Ecology and Management of Grazing Systems. CAB International, Oxon, UK, pp. 159-184.
27. Lyons R.K., Stuth J.W. Faecal NIRS equations for predicting diet quality of free-ranging cattle. J. Range. Manage. 45:1992;238-244
28. Mayes R.W., Dove H. Measurement of dietary nutrient intake in free-ranging mammalian herbivores. Nutr. Res. Rev. 13:2000;107-138
29. Meuret M. Feasibility of in vivo digestibility trials with lactating goats browsing fresh leafy branches. Small Rumin. Res. 1:1988;273-290
30. Meuret, M., 1989. Utilization of native Mediterranean fodder trees by dairy goats. In: Proceedings of the XVI International Grassland Congress, Nice, France, pp. 941-942.
31. Meuret M., Bartiaux-Thill N., Bourbouze A. Evaluation de la consommation d'un troupeau de chèvres laitières sur parcours forestier: méthode d'observation directe des coups de dent; méthode du marqueur oxyde de chrome (Feed intake of dairy goats on woody rangelands: direct observation of biting method; chromic oxide method). Ann. Zootech. 34:1985;159-180. (in French with English abstract)
32. Meuret, M., Boza, J., Narjisse, H., Nastis, A., 1991. Evaluation and utilisation of rangeland feeds by goats. In: Morand-Fehr, P. (Ed.), Goat Nutrition, Pudoc Wageningen, Wageningen, pp. 160-171.
33. Meuret M., Dardenne P., Biston R., Poty O. The use of NIR in predicting nutritive value of Mediterranean tree and shrub foliage. J. Near Infrared Spectrosc. 1:1993;45-54
34. Meuret, M., Dumont, B., 1999. Advances in modelling animal-vegetation interaction and their use in guiding grazing management. In: Gagnaux, D., Poffet, J.R. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Livestock Farming System, Posieux, Switzerland, pp. 57-72.
35. Meuret M., Giger-Reverdin S. A comparison of two ways of expressing the voluntary intake of oak foliage based diets by goats raised on rangelands. Reprod. Nutr. Dev. Suppl. 2:1990;205
36. Meuret M., Viaux C., Chadœuf J. Land heterogeneity stimulates intake rate during grazing trips. Ann. Zootech. 43:1994;296-296
37. Morand-Fehr, P., Sauvant, D., 1988. Alimentation des caprins (Goat feeding). In: Alimentation des bovins, ovins et caprins. INRA, Paris, France.
38. Neff D.J. Forage preference of trained mule deer on the Beavercreek watersheds. Arizona Game Fish Dep. Spec. Rep. 4:1974;1-61
39. Newman J.A., Parsons A.J., Harvey A. Not all sheep prefer clover; diet selection revisited. J. Agric. Sci. 119:1992;275-283
40. Newman J.A., Parsons A.J., Thornley J.H.M., Penning P.D., Krebs J.R. Optimal diet selection by a generalist grazing herbivore. Funct. Ecol. 9:1995;255-268
41. Noldus Information Technology, 1995. The Observer, Base Package for the Macintosh. Reference Manual, Version 3.0.
42. Parker K.L., Gillingham M.P., Hanley T.A. An accurate technique for estimating forage intake of tractable animals. Can. J. Zool. 71:1993;1462-1465
43. Parsons A.J., Newman J.A., Penning P.D., Harvey A. Diet preference of sheep: effects of recent diet, physiological state and species abundance. J. Anim. Ecol. 63:1994;465-478
44. Provenza F.D. Postingestive feedback as an elementary determinant of food preference and intake in ruminants. J. Range. Manage. 48:1995;2-17
45. Schmitz O.J. Combining field experiments and individual-based modeling to identify the dynamically relevant organizational scale in a field system. Oikos. 89:2000;471-484
46. Spalinger D.E., Hobbs N.T. Mechanisms of foraging in mammalian herbivores: new models of functional response. Am. Nat. 140:1992;325-348
47. Stobbs T.H. The effect of plant structure on the intake of tropical pasture. III. Influence of fertilizer nitrogen on the size of bite harvested by Jersey cows grazing Setaria anceps c.v. kazungula swards. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 26:1975;997-1007
48. Ungar, E.D., 1996. Ingestive behaviour. In: Hodgson, J., Illius, A.W. (Eds.), The Ecology and Management of Grazing Systems. CAB International, Oxon, UK, pp. 185-218.
49. Van Soest, P.J., Robertson, J.B., 1985. Analysis of Forages and Fibrous Foods: A Laboratory Manual for Animal Science. Cornell University Press, London.
50. Woodward S.J.R. Bite mechanics of cattle and sheep grazing grass-dominant swards. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 56:1998;203-222