SHORT COMMUNICATION
Energy cost of the activities of grazing cows,
effect of plot size
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1
Beef Cattle Section, ARO, Newe Yaar Center, Israel
2
Department of Natural Resources, ARO, Israel
3
MIGAL - Technological Center Israel, Newe-Ya’ar Research Center,
P.O. Box 1021, Ramat Yishay, 30-095, Israel
Publication date: 2007-09-17
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2007;16(Suppl. 2):284-289
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The energy expenditure and energy cost of activities of grazing beef cows were determined (by using
the heart-rate method and GPS collars with motion sensors) on different size plots on Mediterranean
foothill herbaceous rangeland, in three seasons. In winter plot size had no effect on the time spent on
each activity or on the energy cost of these activities. In the summer, however, when the herbage was
dry, cows on large plots grazed longer and expended more energy on grazing activity. It is suggested
that on larger plots cows could select herbage of better quality than when grazing smaller plots.
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