• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.951-955
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• 2001

The behaviour of 6 Toggenburg and 6 Saanen female goats, grazing on natural vegatation in a modified sub-humid tropical environment of Kenya, was studied during the dry (January and February) and wet (April and May) seasons in 1997. The two exotic breeds grazed for 12 h daily. Observation on feeding, standing, lying and ruminating was done chronometrically at five minute intervals between 0600 and 1800 h. These grazing times were based on the current practice of small holder farmers. During the dry period, the average feeding, standing, lying and ruminating time per 12 h period for Saanens was 5.63, 4.57, 1.80 and 1.50 h respectively while that for Toggenburgs was 7.26, 3.21, 1.53 and 1.96 h, respectively. In the wet(Green) season, the mean feeding, standing, lying and ruminating time for Saanens was found to be 5.08, 4.63, 2.29 and 0.72, respectively.Toggenburgs spent more time feeding (p<0.05) than Saanens in both seasons. It was also observed that standing occured more often in Saanens than the Toggenburgs in the dry season. During the wet period, Saanens ruminated significantly longer than the Toggenburgs. The health status of the animals was determined by analyzing the respiratory frequency, heart rate, rectal temperature, hemoglobin, erythrocytes and leucocytes of the experimental animals. All the clinical and physiological parameters were within the normal physiological range of healthy goats. It was concluded that differences in the grazing behaviour of Saanens and Toggenburgs in the modified tropical environment of Kenya, do exist.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.1040-1048
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• 1999

Four ruminally fistulated crossbred $(Sahiwal{\times}Holstein\;Friesan)$ adult (~6 yr.) cattle of about $318{\pm}16kg$ body weight were randomly assigned in an experiment based on $4{\times}4$ latin square design to study the effect of different level of barseem (Trifolium alexendrinum) supplementation to wheat straw based diet on intake, digestion, VFA production, eating behaviour and passage rate. Four dietary treatments were wheat straw ad lib. (I), supplementation to wheat either 15(II), 30(III) or 45(IV)% of berseem. Mean total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) concentration in rumen liquor was 58.45, 66.14, 77.92 and 78.64 mmol/l. TVFA concentration in rumen liquor increased significantly (p<0.01) with increased level of berseem supplementation upon 30% level of breseem. Two peaks of TVFA concentration was observed at 4 and 8 h post feeding. Brseem supplementation showed no significant effect on daily time spent for eating, ruminating or idling, chews per minute or number of rumination boli ingested per minute. Time spent for eating and ruminating one kg neutral detergent fibre (NDF) was significantly (p<0.05) less in breseem supplemented groups. Animals in groups I, II, III and IV consumed 26, 34, 47 and 57% of DM within 1st 4 h and 64, 70, 70 and 77% of total DM within 1st 8 h of offering. All the animals consumed more than 90% of their DMI within 12 h. Active period of rumination was observed 8h post feeding reached the peak at 16 h post feeding, then declined and animals spend considerable time idling in last 4 h of 24 h feeding cycle. Berseem supplementation showed no significant effect on eating and rumination time. It is concluded that berseem supplementation upon 30% increases the efficiency of chewing during eating and rumination, which results in increase intake and TVFA production and nutrient digestibility.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.491-495
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• 2001

The behaviour of 5 Jersey and 5 Guernsey heifers, grazing on natural vegetation in a sub-humid tropical environment in Kenya, was studied during the dry (January and February) and wet (April and May) seasons in 1999. The heifers grazed for 12 hours daily in both seasons. Observations on feeding, standing, lying and ruminating were done chronometrically, at five-minute intervals, between 0600 and 1800 h. During the dry season, the average feeding, standing, lying and ruminating times per 12 h period for Jerseys was 8.0, 3.13, 0.87, and 1.40 respectively, while those for Guernseys were 8.6, 3.26, 0.4, and 1.35 respectively. In the wet (green) season, the mean feeding, standing, lying and ruminating times for Jerseys were found to be 7.54, 3.07, 1.39, and 1.27 respectively, and for Guernseys were 8.42, 3.10, 0.48, and 0.44 respectively. In both seasons Guernseys spent more time feeding (p<0.05) in comparison with the Jerseys. It was also observed that lying occurred more often in Jerseys than the Guernseys (p<0.05) in both seasons. During the wet season, Jerseys ruminated longer (p<0.05) than the Guernseys. The health status of the animals was determined by examining the respiratory frequency, heart rate, rectal temperature, haemoglobin erythrocytes and leucocytes of the experimental animals. All the clinical and physiological parameters were within the normal physiological range of healthy cattle. It was concluded that there are differences in grazing behaviour between Jerseys and Guernseys in the sub-humid tropical environment of Kenya and Jerseys seem to be more adapted to the tropical climatic conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.477-480
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• 1995

The effects of formic acid and formaldehyde treatment and methionine supplementation to ladino clover fibrous residue silage on eating and rumination behaviour were studied in sheep. From the ladino clover fibrous residue, two silage were prepared, either untreated or treated with formic acid and formaldehyde. Four experimental diets: untreated silage, treated silage, untreated silage with supplementation of methionine and treated silage with supplementation of methionine, were offered to four sheep at a restricted level of DM intake (2% of BW/d) twice daily in a two-way layout design. Methionine supplementation with the treated silage significantly (p < 0.05) reduced daily time spent eating, and consequently, markedly increased rate of eating. However, there was little effect of methionine supplementation on the daily time spent eating and eating rate for sheep offered untreated silage. Methionine supplementation with the treated silage reduced daily time spent ruminating, although the same effect was not observed for untreated silage. The rumination index (time spent ruminating/100 g DM eaten) was remarkably smaller (p < 0.05) with methionine supplement in feeding treated silage, although it did not differ for sheep offered untreated silage. There were no clear effect of methionine supplementation on the rumination efficiency (i.e. number of chews/bolus, bolus time and rumination chewing rate) both feeding untreated silage and treated silage.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.138-143
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• 2001

Red sea bream, Pagrus major a fish species characterized by its dualistic feeding pattern, was investigated to study the synchronizing effect of light and food on the demand-feeding rhythm. Nocturnal and diurnal red sea bream, both in groups and individually, were exposed to restricted-feeding and Light-Dark cycles of different periods. The phase relationship between both zeitgebers was also studied. In some cases, food availability restricted to the light or dark phase contrary to that of the previous feeding phase changed a diurnal feeding pattern into nocturnal and vice versa, suggesting that food can be one of the switching factors that decides whether the circadian system of red sea bream is diurnal or nocturnal. However, the fact that the feeding pattern of some fish was unrelated with the phase in which food was available suggests that other internal and/or external-factors could be involved in the temporal flexibility of red sea bream.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.381-387
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• 1996

An experiment was carried out for 12 weeks to study the feeding behaviour, growth and carcass characteristics of cross-bred goats. Nine bucks with an average live weight of $18.02{\pm}0.9kg$ were allocated in a completely randomized block design arrangement, consisting of three feeding regimes and three blocks. The feeding regimes consisted of 100% natural grass (Treatment A), 100% gliricidia leaf (Treatment B) and 100% ficus leaf (Treatment C). Frequency of turning-over and sniffing the feed and duration and frequency of ruminating, defaecating, and urination of goats in treatment B were longer, while duration of masticating and jaw movement of chewing one bolus was shorter than those of goats in treatments C and A (p < 0.05). Furthermore, goats in treatment B gained more live weight, consumed more feed, consumed less water and was more efficient in utilizing the feed than goats in treatments C or A (p < 0.05). The dressing percentage, carcass length and carcass fat of goats in treatment B were higher and their bone percentages were lower than those in treatments C and A (p < 0.05). There is an indication that feeding gliricidia and ficus leaves during the dry season could not only increase the body weight and improve carcass quality of the goat but also save water for household needs.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2004

Two methods, a Ceriodaphnia algal uptake suppression test (CAUST) and a new toxicity test based on temperature control (TTBTC) which are based on feeding behaviour and temperature control, respectively, were developed and compared for the adoption as the better methodology for short-term toxicity screening. As previously published by Lee et aI., (1997), the CAUST method is based on the feeding behaviour of C. dubia and requires as little as 1 hour of contact time between C. dubia neonates and toxicant. However, even though CAUST requires only 1 hour of contact time, this method still take many hours for the preparation and measurement. Before the test starts, neonate digestive tracts were cleared by feeding yeast to the daphnids, Neonates were then exposed to toxicant, followed by addition of Scenedesmus subspiatus into the bioassay vessels. Daphnids were examined under the bright-field microscope with the presence of algae (indicated by a green colored digestive tract) or the absence of algae. Uptake indicated no toxic effect, whereas, absence of uptake indicated toxic inhibition. Unlike CAUST, the newly developed method (TTBTC) is based on just temperature control for the toxicity test of C. dubia. Initially, neonates are exposed to toxicants while the temperature of water bath containing media increased to $35.5^{\circ}C$. After 1.25 hour of contact time, the number of the daphnids, either live (no toxic effect) or dead (toxic effect), is counted without the aid of any instrument. In both methods, median effective concentrations ($EC_{50}$ values) were computed based on the results over a range of dosed toxicant concentrations. It showed that TTBTC was as sensitive as the standard 48-hour acute bioassay and CAUST. TTBTC and CAUST were much more sensitive than the I-hour I.Q. test and 30-minute Microtox. This study indicates that TTBTC is an easier and more rapid toxicity test than the standard 48-hour acute bioassay and even CAUST.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.184-188
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• 2001

In a summer study during May to July, involving 12 young Murrah buffalo bulls at forty months of average age, the effects of multiple shower vs single shower body cooling and vitamin A, D and E supplementation on the sexual behaviour, semen quality and freezability were investigated. The animals were divided into two groups (6 animals in each group) and housed in a half-walled shed with proper spacing, the feeding management being identical. The bulls in the control group were given a single shower at 1000 h, whereas the experimental bulls were given four showers at 10,12,14 and 16 h. In addition, the experimental bulls were given vitamin A, D and E injections at fifteen day intervals. The sexual behaviour of bulls was observed in terms of reaction time, sexual aggressiveness and ejaculatory thrust. Semen quality of all the bulls was assessed in terms of volume, mass activity, live-dead sperm and sperm concentration, sperm motility and morphology, and acrosomal abnormality. The sexual behaviour did not vary significantly between the groups, whereas semen quality differed significantly for volume, per cent live sperms, total sperms per ejaculate and total live sperm per ejaculate between groups. It can be concluded that sexual behaviour was not influenced by the thermal comfort treatment coupled with periodic vitamin A, D and E injections. But the treatments improved most of the seminal traits in the experimental group of bulls. However, benefit of treatment was not reflected in the freezability traits of the semen.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.117-122
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of colors of feed-trough on the eating behaviour of pullets. A total of 64 12wks old pullets were assigned to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design with 4 treatments(control, blue, yellow, red colored feed-troughs). The results of the study are summarized as follows: 1. Average daily gain and eed intake of the pullets were significantly(P<0.05) decreased with red color feed-troughs. 2. Feed conversion ratio appeared to be improved in the yellow color group compared to the others. 3. Total time spent for eating were not significantly different, among treatments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2004

The single line hook fishery for giant pacific octopus, Parotopus dofleini is one of the important in coastal Kangwon-do of Korea, where was caught an average of 4,000 ton during the period of 1996~2000. The fishing gear is consisted of a single buoy line, a buoy and a hook. In this study, the responses of giant pacific octopus to single line hook gear were examined in an experimental tank using a video camera in order to know hooking mechanism and improve hook. Giant pacific octopus tend to envelop the bait with their arms by rush or slowly swimming towards it. When they rush to the bait, they show much feeding behaviour as withdrawing after enveloping the bait using two arms. But when they approach with slowly swimming to bait, they show feeding behaviour as stopping after enveloping the bait using one arm. and then, the highly hooking rate appeared more often in the case of latter then former. The average feeding time on a sardine, giant pacific octopus and pork fat showed the range of 1 to 30 min, 10 to 50 min, and 50 min to over 1 hour, respectively. This indicates that it takes longer time for giant pacific octopus to eat the tough meat than the soft meat. The performance concerned with hooking showed that the 'B' type hook with a short shank was more favorable than the 'A' type hook with a long shank. However, the 'A' type hook has the advantage of easy dropping out caught octopus, compared to the 'B' type.