• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.748-754
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• 2018

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.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.514-520
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• 2006

An abandoned mandarin orange orchard in southwestern Japan was set-stocked by Japanese Black cows at two stocking rates (1.0 and 2.0 animals/ha), and vegetation dynamics and diet selection by cattle were monitored for two years, in an effort to obtain information on effective use of abandoned agricultural fields for low-cost animal production and environmental conservation. Two dominant species at the commencement of grazing, kudzu (Pueraria lobata Ohwi) and tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima L.), showed different responses to grazing during the two years; the composition of kudzu decreased, contrasting with that of tall goldenrod which increased at both stocking rates. This was caused by high preference for kudzu and avoidance or low preference for tall goldenrod by cattle. Retrogression of vegetation due to cattle disturbances occurred at both stocking rates, with the high stocking rate leading to a lower degree of succession than the low stocking rate. It was shown that cattle grazing, particularly at a high stocking rate, was effective in the management of vegetation of an abandoned orchard.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 1993

This experiment was carried out to determine the effects of application time of cattle slurry on grazing pasture on the grass growth, dry matter yield, nutritive value, animal preference, and efficiency of pasture utilization. Four different application times of slurry(right now after grazing, 5th day, 10th day, and 15th day after grazing), and a no-slurry(control) plot were designed, 1991∼1992. Annual application amount of slurry was 40 ㎥/ha, and slurry was applicated in spring(2 times), summer and autumn. Total NPK fertilizer applicated were same as 280, 200 and 240 kg/ha in all treatment, respectively. The pasture was grazed with growing beef cattle(initial body wt.; ca. 250 kg) at every 30∼35 cm of plant height. The grass height, dry matter yield, crude protein yield, and other nutritive value were not different among treatments. However, the animal preference and efficiency of pasture utilization showed significant difference by application time of slurry. The highest grazing preference (1: the worst∼9: the best). and utilization efficiency (0∼100%) were observed by application time of right now after grazing (7.8, 76%), which was same to control(7.8, 77%), and followed by 5th day after grazing(7.3, 74%) and l0th day after grazing(6.9, 71%). But the preference and pasture utilization were greatly decreased at application time of cattle slurry of 15th day alter grazing(5.5, 60%). From the above results, the optimum application time of cattle slurry on grazing pasture to enhance animal preference, and efficiency of pasture utilization was within 5 days after grazing (less than 13.6 cm of plant height), and within 10 days after grazing (less than 18.5 cm of plant height) at least.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.209-214
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• 1999

Grazing preference, voluntary dry matter intake, stocking rate and digestibility of forage were investigated or sheep grazed in mature oil palm plantations in Malaysia. Dry matter intake (DMI) was estimated using the chromium sesquioxide marker method. The sheep were allowed to graze about 5 hours/day in oil palm plantations of age ranging from 9 to 21 years old. The crude protein, crude fibre and ash contents of selected herbage were 13.1 %; 24.6 %; and 8.3 %, respectively, while the gross energy (GE) and the metabolisable energy (ME) were 16.9 and 6.0 MJ/kg DM, respectively. Broad leaf plants and grasses were normally found in plantation of all ages. Legumes and oil palm seedlings formed the smallest group in the whole mixture. Fern content increased in older plantations. Legumes, oil palm seedlings, fern, broad leaves and grasses were 0.4, 1.3, 11.4, 28.0 and 59.0 %, respectively of total herbage. Grasses showed the highest preference index followed by broad leaf plants, legumes, oil palm seedlings and ferns in that order. The DMI and the metabolisable energy intake (MEI) of sheep at 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 months of age were 64.8, 65.0, 65.3, 65.6 and 67.4 g/kg $W^{0.75}$ (p<0.05) and 0.39, 0.40, 0.40, 0.40 and 0.41 MJ/kg $W^{0.75}$, respectively. The average stocking rate was 4.3 sheep/ha. It was concluded that the performance of the sheep could be improved by increasing the daily grazing period and also by appropriate concentrate supplementation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.1192-1199
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• 1999

Two cultivars of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), "Dinninup" and "Seaton Park" were sown at Shenton Park Field Station, Western Australia, in May 1992 and 1993. The characteristics of Dinninup related to animal production were compared with Seaton Park under grazing conditions with herbage utilization efficiencies of 60% in 1992 and 65% in 1993. The results showed that Dinninup and Seaton Park had similar dry matter digestibility (77-78%) and dry matter production (1,290 kg/ha in 1992; 930 kg/ha in 1993) before flowering initiation even though Dinninup had more (p<0.05) branches, leaves and petioles per plant. After flowering, the herbage on offer of Dinninup was higher (p<0.05) and dry matter digestibility was lower (p<0.05) than that of Seaton Park while the sward structure was similar for both cultivars. The variation in nutritive value among plant parts increased with maturation. Leaf was more digestible than stem and petiole with a higher nitrogen content, and stem had the lowest dry matter digesitibility and nitrogen content in late of the season. Sheep did not show any preference for Seaton Park over Dinninup. The predicted bodyweight gain of sheep grazing pure Seaton Park and Dinninup swards using Grazfed software indicated that sheep grazing Dinninup were predicted to have a similar bodyweight gain in early growing stage and a significantly lower gain after flowering compared with those grazing Seaton Park.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.900-904
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• 2002

The duration of spatial memory in cattle is potentially important for grazing management. The ability of livestock to remember the location of food patches may lead to uneven range use. In this experiment, how long cattle are able to remember food locations was determined. Six steers were used to conduct this study in a pasture with an 8 row by 8 column grid of 64 plastic containers 5 meters apart. Four randomly chosen containers were loaded with feed pellets. All steers were trained to find the loaded locations until a minimum of empty containers were visited. After this initial training, each steer was tested at 5, 10, 20 and 48 days post-training. Total number of visits (TV), number of containers visited (NC), the ratio of loaded containers (LC) to NC were recorded. Once the steers learned the locations of loaded containers NC did not increase with time since last training up to 48 days (p>0.05). Logarithmic transformation of NC (LNC) was 0.70 and 0.80 for the control and 48 day treatments, respectively. Steers were equally efficient in locating containers with feed. The steers also showed that their ability in locating food was much better than expected by chance (Z>1.62). Findings of the present study do not suggest using spatial memory decay as a tool to promote better grazing distribution. Because steers remembered food locations accurately for at least 48 days.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 1996

This experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of pasture types(mixture and mono tall fescue pasture) and endophyte infection on the animal behavior of Korean native cattle at the Experimental Field of Grassland and Forage Crops Division, National Livestock Research Institute, Suweon, in 1994. The results obtained are sumunarized as follows: DM intake of Korean native cattle was increased with mixture and endophyte-free tall fescue for both pasture types. Mixture and endophyte-free tall fescue showed good animal preference. Daily grazing time was increased with mixture and endophyte-free tall fescue in monoculture, while annual grazing period was increased with monoculture and endophyte-infect tall fescue. Amount of drinking water of Korean native cattle was increased with tall fescue monoculture rather than mixture, however the amount of drinking water was higher with endophyte-infect tall fescue in monoculture. Salt intake of Korean native cattle was increased with mixture and endophyte-6ee tall fescue in monoculture. Rectal temperature of Korean native cattle was not influenced by pasture types and endophyte infection. Based on the results of this experiment, DM intake of Korean native cattle and daily grazing time were increased by mixture and endophyte-free tall fescue with good quality.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.415-427
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• 2021

Wetland ecosystems act as natural freshwater purification systems, but their rich biodiversity is being threatened with the introduction of the non-native freshwater snail, Pomacea canaliculata. This study was conducted to measure the herbivory effects and growth rate of P. canaliculata on common macrophytes: Ipomoea aquatica, Ipomoea batatas, Pandanus amaryllifolius and Cucurma longa. In separate experiments, the macrophyte species were served as the snails' food as individual species and simultaneously. In the individual treatment, the growth pattern and rate were based on the snails' weight (mg/snail/day; n = 9) while the individual feeding consumption (mg/snail/day) was calculated from the leftover food. In the simultaneous treatment, the herbivory effects were evaluated as the feeding preference (%) from observations every two hours, while the total feeding consumption (mg) was calculated based on the food remaining after a 12-hour experiment (3 replicates: total n = 27). The results indicated that the growth pattern was significant for snails grazing on I. aquatica but not when other macrophyte species were eaten. The individual feeding consumption was higher when using I. aquatica than P. amaryllifolius but the growth rate for snails grazing on I. aquatica and P. amaryllifolius did not differ significantly. Meanwhile, the consumption of C. longa deterred the snails' growth rate. Although the snails consumed all the macrophytes in the individual experiment, when given the species simultaneously, the feeding preference and total feeding consumption were directed significantly more toward I. aquatica than P. amaryfollius and C. longa. We conclude that P. canaliculata is a generalist feeder given a limited choice of food but tends to show a strong feeding preference after being introduced to more food choices. These findings indicate that the introduction of P. canaliculata into wetland ecosystems may increase the herbivory effects on macrophytes, making these ecosystems vulnerable to the impact of eutrophication and biodiversity reduction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.681-685
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• 1992

Experiment involved range vegetation classified into three major classes: Xerophytic trees, shrubs and grasses. Among them samples of major plant species were collected and analysed for chemical composition. The experimental animals 20 each of Thalli sheep and Teddy goats, located at Livestock Experiment Station Rakh Kharewala district Layyah (Pakistan) were randomly drawn from the main flock. The grazing pattern data were collected from one animal of each species. The observations regarding the grazing behaviour, breeding efficiency and carcass quality were also determined. It was found that overall preference index of Teddy goats were higher for Khabble (Cynodon dactylon) indicated by percent of the total number of bites made on different plant species, while the bites on Lumb (Aristida plumose), Mahabbat booti (Cenchrus biflorus), Dhaman (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Karera (Elionorus hirsutus) were found to be 1.28, 6.74, 0.32 and 3.87 percents. The browsing species as a whole were utilized more during the draught period. Among the grasses, sheep heavily utilized Khabble grass, with overall bite percentage of 89.27. Within browsing species Wan (Salvadora oleoides) and wind fallen dry leaves of Wan were considerably picked by the sheep showing 1.19 and 3.49 overall bite percentage respectively. The overall daily growth rates & dressing percentage for Teddy goats and Thalli sheep were 48.33, 39.00 and 51.00, 46.00 percent respectively. Moreover, among the experimental animals 50 percent goats exhibited signs of oestrus where as none of the sheep came into heat during the study period.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.100-111
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• 1983

The research results reported herein had the objectives to understand and analyze the present problems of saemaeul woodland joint cattle grazing system in Kang Won Do and to take steps of improvement. The study results on actual management conditions, problems analyzed and improvement plan of total 208 joint cattle grazing area which was established 105 area in 1981 and 103 area in 1982 were summarized as follows: 1. the effectiveness of joint cattle grazing projects 1) Average daily weight gain of cattle during joint cattle grazing period was 0.4kg, showing higher daily than the conventional feeding of 0.33kg. 2) Increase of total farm income over the conventional feeding system were \1,031,357,320 during the grazing period from May to October in 1982 by adapting the 208 joint cattle grazing system, of which effectiveness of weight gain was \293,075,300 and labor saving was \543,838,750. 3) According to the results of questionaire investigation from 208 joint cattle grazing area, effectiveness of joint cattle grazing system over the conventional system were (1) labor saving, (2) feed cost saving, (3) reduced diseases, (4) increase of number of feeding, (5) inspiration of joint endeavor, (6) effect of more gain, (7) easiness of feeding and feed cost savings. 2. Problems of joint cattle grazing system. 1) Shortages of grass were a problem at second year of joint cattle grazing period due to the low regrowth rate of wild grass. 2) Proper land for woodland joint cattle grazing is belonging to land of Government ownership and it is very hard to get the permission from office of forestry for cattle grazing purpose. 3) It is also difficult to find a proper time of breeding in grazing area by the difficulty of estrus detection. 4) There are a difficulty to give a proper vaccination and medical examination for the grazing cattle. 3. Improvement plans for woodland joint cattle grazing projects. 1) Obtain sufficient roughages by hoof cultivation and oversowing pasture from the second year of joint cattle grazing period. 2) In order to increase the beef production and to use for a calf production area, Government should arrange that all proper grazing land of Government owned in Kang Won Do convert into woodland joint cattle grazing area. 3) Make a good reproductive record by mixed grazing with a excellent breeding cow in a remote area. And carry out the collective artificial insemination with synchronous puberty induced by injection of puberty stimulation hormone. 4) Make a preventive injection for blackleg, twice medication of fasciola hepatica in a year, and spray and medication of tick insecticide. 4. A policy towards upbringing of woodland joint cattle grazing area. 1) Government should thoroughly investigate about a proper land for woodland joint cattle grazing from all forests. 2) When the area is suitable for the woodland joint cattle grazing, though it is national forest or restricted area, government should make it possible to establish a grazing area. 3) On the proper land foe joint cattle grazing in the remote place, Government should support for the road construction and electric fence equipments by using of national funds. 4) There should be an administrative consideration for well promotion of the project that make woodland joint cattle grazing suitable to the characteristics of Kang Won Do. 5) In order to improve the reproduction record, Government should reform the insufficiency of artificial insemination in the joint cattle grazing area. 6) In order to maintain a proper price of cow, Government should carry out the price plan. 7) When there is any request for grassland formation in the woodland joint cattle grazing area, Government should permit it with preference.