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Yu T, Yan R, Zhang C, Chen S, Zhang Z, Guo L, Hu T, Jiang C, Wang M, Bai K, Zhou W, Wu L. How does grazing pressure affect feed intake and behavior of livestock in a meadow steppe in northern China and their coupling relationship. Sci Total Environ 2024; 908:168472. [PMID: 37951273 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
Livestock feeding behavior and intake play a crucial role in influencing grassland health and productivity. A comprehensive investigation into livestock feeding behavior and intake can effectively elucidate the interactions and impacts of livestock and grasslands, providing scientific evidence and technical support for the formulation and implementation of sustainable grassland development strategies. Based on a long-term controlled grazing experiment platform conducted over 13 years, the feeding behavior and forage intake of cattle under different grazing intensities were observed and analyzed. Additionally, we used GPS sensors to study cattle grazing behavior trends. Using Mantel's test, we analyzed the relationship between cattle movement distance, forage intake, and environmental factors. The results demonstrated that cattle forage intake decreased with increasing grazing intensity. Forage intake peaked at the end of July and beginning of August, with the highest efficiency observed in August. Moreover, under light grazing intensity, cattle exhibited greater fluctuations in forage intake than those under moderate and heavy grazing intensity. Cattle movement levels increased with higher grazing intensity, and during the period of lush grass growth, cattle displayed significantly higher movement levels than during grass senescence. The accuracy of the behavior determination model based on cattle velocity ranged from 60 to 80 %. Using this model, we found that under heavy grazing conditions, cattle spent significantly more time roaming than under light and moderate grazing. Conversely, under light grazing conditions, cattle spent significantly more time feeding. A negative correlation was identified between cattle forage intake and movement distance. Cattle's forage intake was significantly positively correlated with grass height and grass biomass and significantly negatively correlated with stocking rate and movement distance. Thorough research on livestock feeding behavior and intake offers scientific evidence and technical support for formulating and implementing sustainable grassland development strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianqi Yu
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in North China, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ruirui Yan
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in North China, Beijing 100081, China.
| | - Chu Zhang
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in North China, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Sisi Chen
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in North China, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Zhitao Zhang
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in North China, Beijing 100081, China; College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010011, China
| | - LeiFeng Guo
- Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Tianci Hu
- Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; College of Computer and Information Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830052, China
| | - Chengxiang Jiang
- Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; College of Computer and Information Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830052, China
| | - Miao Wang
- Beijing Digital Agriculture Rural Promotion Center, Building 3, No. 7 Beisha Beach, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Keyu Bai
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in North China, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Wenneng Zhou
- College of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| | - Lianhai Wu
- Net Zero and Resilient Farming, Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, UK
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Valečková E, Ivarsson E, Ellström P, Wang H, Mogodiniyai Kasmaei K, Wall H. Silage and haylage as forage in slow and fast-growing broilers - effects on performance in Campylobacter jejuni infected birds. Br Poult Sci 2020; 61:433-441. [PMID: 32149527 DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2020.1736515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
1. This study investigated the effects of daily intake of silage or haylage on broiler production performance and organ development. Furthermore, effects of daily intake of Lactobacillus plantarum either via silage or by supplemented drinking water, on Campylobacter jejuni loads in faeces were studied. 2. To test this, a 42-d experiment using Ross 308 and a 63-d experiment with Rowan Rangers hybrids, were performed. Silage inoculated with L. plantarum strain 256 and haylage were fed in total mixed rations with mixtures of 85% of pellets and 15% of respective forage (DM-based weight). Feed intake (FI), forage intake, body weight (BW) and feed conversion ration (FCR) were monitored weekly. Mortality was recorded daily, and organ weights were registered at slaughter. Quantification of C. jejuni was performed by colony counts from faecal samples after culture on agar plates. 3. There was a negative effect of haylage on BW and FI in the fast-growing Ross 308 hybrid. Silage had a negative effect on BW only on week four and six. Water inoculated with L. plantarum 256 increased BW in the starter period. Interestingly, no significant adverse effect of forage inclusion was observed in the Rowan Ranger birds. 4. Relative weight of the emptied gizzard was higher in both Ross 308 and Rowan Ranger birds fed haylage and silage than in the control group. In Ross 308 birds, both forages significantly reased the relative weight of gizzard with digestive content when compared to birds fed solely pellets. 5. In both studies, higher consumption of silage than haylage was observed. 6. In conclusion, daily intake of L. plantarum 256 either via silage or supplemented in drinking water, was not effective in reducing the shedding of C. jejuni in either Ross 308 or Rowan Ranger hybrids at the end of the rearing period.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Valečková
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Uppsala , Sweden
| | - E Ivarsson
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Uppsala , Sweden
| | - P Ellström
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Infection Biology, Uppsala University , Uppsala, Sweden
| | - H Wang
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Infection Biology, Uppsala University , Uppsala, Sweden
| | - K Mogodiniyai Kasmaei
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Uppsala , Sweden
| | - H Wall
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Uppsala , Sweden
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Prado Silva RH, Carneiro de Rezende AS, Felipe da Silva Inácio D, Norberto F, Saraiva de Melo Queiroz JN, Melo MM, Colares de Araújo Moreira D, de Jesus Mendes L, Peixoto JL, Cristeli JH. Feeding Behavior of Mangalarga Marchador Weanlings Fed Sorghum Silage Versus Grass Hay. J Equine Vet Sci 2019; 75:90-92. [PMID: 31002101 DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2018] [Revised: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Mangalarga Marchador foals in Minas Gerais, Brazil, are usually weaned during the dry season, when there is a scarcity of forage. Although sorghum silage has been used to feed weanlings, the effect on their feeding behavior in comparison with grass hay has not been reported. Twelve Mangalarga Marchador weanlings were randomly assigned to two groups of six animals: SS: sorghum silage; VH: Vaquero hay. Both groups received commercial concentrate in the proportion of 1.2 kg.100 kg-1 of the live weight and forage ad libitum. The animals were filmed for 48 hours, being timed: forage intake time, water intake time (WIT), concentrate intake time, and leisure time (LT). Tukey's test was used to compare the parameters between SS and VH groups. Forage intake time and WIT were higher (P < .05) in VH group because the hay had low moisture content, stimulating water intake. Feeding behavior of weanlings kept in individual stalls and consuming sorghum silage was different than those consuming grass hay, providing less forage intake time and longer LT spent in comparison with VH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Henrique Prado Silva
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
| | | | - Diogo Felipe da Silva Inácio
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Felipe Norberto
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Marilia Martins Melo
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | | | - Julia Lopes Peixoto
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Jamile Hegermann Cristeli
- Departamento de Zootecnia, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Hupp JW, White RG, Sedinger JS, Robertson DG. Forage digestibility and intake by lesser snow geese: effects of dominance and resource heterogeneity. Oecologia 1996; 108:232-240. [PMID: 28307834 DOI: 10.1007/bf00334646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/1995] [Accepted: 04/22/1996] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We measured forage intake, digestibility, and retention time for 11 free-ranging, human-imprinted lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) as they consumed underground stembases of tall cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) on an arctic staging area in northeastern Alaska. Geese fed in small patches ([Formula: see text]=21.5 m2) of forage that made up ≤3% of the study area and consisted of high-quality "aquatic graminoid" and intermediate-quality "wet sedge" vegetation types. Dominant geese spent more time feeding in aquatic graminoid areas (r=0.61), but less total time feeding and more time resting than subdominant geese. Subdominant geese were displaced to areas of wet sedge where cotton-grass was a smaller proportion of underground biomass. Geese metabolized an average of 48% of the organic matter in stembases and there was a positive correlation between dominance and organic matter metabolizability (r=0.61). Total mean retention time of forage was 1.37 h and dry matter intake was 14.3 g/h. Snow geese that stage on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea likely use an extensive area because they consume a large mass of forage and exploit habitats that are patchily distributed and make up a small percentage of the landscape. Individual variation in nutrient absorption may result from agonistic interactions in an environment where resources are heterogeneously distributed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry W Hupp
- Alaska Science Center, National Biological Service, 1011 E. Tudor Road, 99503, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Robert G White
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 99775, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - James S Sedinger
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 99775, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Donna G Robertson
- Alaska Science Center, National Biological Service, 1011 E. Tudor Road, 99503, Anchorage, AK, USA
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