Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Education and Research Center for Food Animal Health (GeFAH), Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Anim Sci J. 2023 Jan-Dec;94(1):e13811. doi: 10.1111/asj.13811.
This study aimed to clarify the differences in ingestive behavior between goats and sheep at the bite scale. Animals were allowed to graze a feeding station of bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) with two sward heights (short and tall) to two levels of bite depletion (20 and 40 bites). Ingestive behavior variables, which represent the rate and mass of bites and chews, intake rate, bite dimensions, and bite placement characteristics, were quantified. The interspecies difference in ingestive behavior became obvious at the short sward. Goats reduced the inter-bite distance and maintained bite overlapping but took deeper bites than sheep at the short sward, resulting in slightly greater bite mass. These behavioral changes with efficient chewing may be helpful to maintain the intake rate at the short sward. Sheep maintained their inter-bite distance regardless of the sward height and decreased overlapping bites at the short sward. These behavioral characteristics in sheep in response to sward height may partly compensate for the decrease in the bite mass at the short sward, although it may not always maintain the intake rate. Thus, the present study suggests that goats and sheep implement different bite scale ingestive behaviors, including bite placement, when they eat short swards.
本研究旨在阐明在采食尺度上绵羊和山羊在摄食行为上的差异。动物被允许在两种草地高度（矮和高）下采食一种 Bahiagrass（Paspalum notatum Flügge）的给料站，采食程度为 20 和 40 次。本研究量化了代表采食频次、采食咀嚼率、采食率、采食块尺寸和采食位置特征的摄食行为变量。在矮草地，种间摄食行为差异变得明显。在矮草地，山羊减少了采食间隔距离，保持了采食重叠，但比绵羊采食更深，导致采食块质量略大。这种高效咀嚼的行为变化可能有助于维持在矮草地的采食率。无论草地高度如何，绵羊均保持了采食间隔距离，在矮草地减少了重叠采食。绵羊对草地高度的这些行为特征反应可能部分补偿了在矮草地采食块质量的下降，尽管这并不总是能维持采食率。因此，本研究表明，绵羊和山羊在采食矮草地时会采用不同的采食尺度摄食行为，包括采食位置。
