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. 2018 May;31(5):748-754.
doi: 10.5713/ajas.17.0543. Epub 2017 Oct 20.

Short-term grazing behavior of cattle under indoor housing for a new-bred tetraploid ruzigrass (Brachiaria ruziziensis Germain et Everard)

Genki Ishigaki  1 , Pattama Nitthaisong  2 , Yogi Sidik Prasojo  3 , Ikuo Kobayashi  1 , Kiichi Fukuyama  1 , Mohammad Mijanur Rahman  4 , Ryo Akashi  2
Affiliations

Short-term grazing behavior of cattle under indoor housing for a new-bred tetraploid ruzigrass (Brachiaria ruziziensis Germain et Everard)

Genki Ishigaki et al. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2018 May.

Erratum in

  • CORRIGENDUM (2018; vol 31, no 5, 748-754).
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Anim Biosci. 2021 Apr;34(4):783-785. doi: 10.5713/ajas.17.0543C. Epub 2021 Feb 22. Anim Biosci. 2021. PMID: 33705627 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Objective: The preference evaluation of cattle is an important factor for estimation and improvement of the grazing amounts of newly introduced or bred grasses or cultivars in barn. This study was performed to assess the grazing behavior (the amount of grazing and/or the grazing speed) of cattle as indirect method using newly bred Brachiaria ruziziensis tetraploid strain 'OKI-1'(BR) hay as treatment group and Cloris gayana 'Callide' (CG) hay as control group. It also compared the feasibility of using behavioral differences between two groups as one criteria for evaluating preference by Japanese black cattle in barn.

Methods: Three experiments were carried out using 12 growing Japanese Black cattle including 6 males and 6 females. In each experiment, the four Japanese Black cattle (2 males and 2 females) were placed in separated stall and allowed to graze BR and CG in manger that was separated into two portions for about 30 min. The position and behavior of the cattle were recorded, and weighed the residual of each gay at 15 and 30 minutes after experiment start.

Results: The BR was superior to CG in chemical composition such as protein, fibers and non-fibrous carbohydrate. The cattle, over all, tended to prefer BR over CG in the first half 15 minutes in terms of the time spent and amount of grazing. Additionally, growing cattle exhibited neophilia for BR bred newly.

Conclusion: These findings indicated the current approach could be applied for one of criteria to evaluate the preference of hay by Japanese black cattle under indoor housing environment.

Keywords: Brachiaria ruziziensis; Chloris gayana; Grazing Behavior; Indoor Housing; Japanese Black Cattle; Preference.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

We certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental plot image; 1, 2: Ruzigrass tetraploid strain or rhodesgrass. The position of two grasses were replaced everyday. 3: Black sheet were set until when the experiment started. 4: Water cup point.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The chronological change for the proportion of time spent grazing ruzigrass tetraploid strain (BR, open columns) hay and Rhodes grass (CG, hatched columns) hay by cattle. The broken lines indicate the proportion of the amount of hay fed with the two grasses (BR:CG = 0.5:0.5). * Indicates a significant bias from the hay fed proportion at p<0.05. BR, Brachiaria ruziziensis; CG, Cloris gayana.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The chronological change for the proportion of grazing amount of ruzigrass tetraploid strain (BR, open columns) hay and Rhodes grass (CG, hatched columns) hay by cattle. The broken lines indicate the proportion of the amount of hay fed with the two grasses (BR:CG = 0.5:0.5). * Indicates a significant bias from the hay fed proportion at p<0.05. BR, Brachiaria ruziziensis; CG, Cloris gayana.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The chronological change for the proportion of time spent grazing ruzigrass tetraploid strain (BR, open columns) hay and Rhodes grass (CG, hatched columns) hay expressed by sex. The broken lines indicate the proportion of the amount of hay fed with the two grasses (BR:CG = 0.5:0.5). There was no significant bias between BR and CG. BR, Brachiaria ruziziensis; CG, Cloris gayana.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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