Some Observations on the Behavior of Grazing Lactating Cows

By using four Holstein cows in each of two trials running for 10 consecutive days, data were obtained on the manner in which grazing lactating animals allocate their time.In general, the animals exhibited four main grazing periods daily.Least grazing was done between 8:00 and 11:00 at night.Editor.The study of animal grazing behavior is not new.In 1797, Anderson (1) observed the grazing habits of cattle and as a result of his observations recommended that a system of rotational grazing be followed in order to utilize pastures most effectively.Much interest has recently been shown in the behavior of the grazing animal as evidenced by the extensive reviews by Tribe (13) and Hancock (6).This investigation was conducted to obtain data on the nianner in which grazing lactating animals allocate their time to the various activities in which they are daily engaged and to study some of the variations in these activities which are brought about as a result of certain environmental conditions.Since Harker et al. (9) in Africa have shown that grazing behavior studies must be considered in relation to the particular environmental conditions under which they are conducted and since relatively few such studies have been made in the southeastern part of the United States, these observations should be of interest to workers in this particular area. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDUREThe studies reported herein were conducted in two trials with eight Holstein cows.In each trial four cows were under continuous observation for 10 consecutive days.A 6-acre area subdivided into six 1-acre plots was rotationally grazed by each group of four cows.One-third of the area was seeded to a mixture of ladino clover and orchard grass, one-third to ladino clover and Kentucky 31