Influence of Communal Area Grazing Management System on the Foraging Behaviour of Steers in a Semi-Arid Area of Zimbabwe

Tinoziva Hungwe,Rachel Gwazani,Charles Mutisi,Department Of Animal Science, Faculty Of Agriculture, University Of Zimbabwe ,Prisca Mugabe

doi:10.15580/gjas.2013.3.101613903

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the influence of grazing management system on the foraging behaviour of steers in semiarid area of Zimbabwe. Foraging behaviour was determined through direct observations of focal animals. Four draught steers were observed in either the grazing scheme or under the traditional grazing management over the early, mid and late rainy seasons. Grazing was found to be the most dominant foraging activity under the two grazing systems. The time spent grazing was significantly (P<0.05) affected by the interaction between grazing management system and season. As the season progressed, grazing time increased for animals in grazing schemes. In grazing schemes, browsing was strongly marked during the early and late rainy seasons. The time spent by animals walking was higher (P<0.05) for steers under the traditional system. Other idling activities, such as drinking water were curtailed in grazing schemes due to the absence of watering points in some paddocks. These findings suggest that grazing schemes tended to limit foraging activities, possibly due to limited range resources. The ability of cattle under traditional grazing system to switch effectively among different patches might have contributed to their foraging activities.

Highlights

Foraging behaviour encompasses all the activities done by the animal in search of food
E-mail: hungwetinoziva @gmail.com in some paddocks. These findings suggest that grazing schemes tended to limit foraging activities, possibly due to limited range resources
The effect of area on foraging activities was expected since the study areas were located in different agroecological zones which differ in rainfall and temperature

Summary

Introduction

Foraging behaviour encompasses all the activities done by the animal in search of food. Foraging behaviour studies have been done through visual observation of the animals at regular intervals (Hancock, 1953). Equipment such as vibracorders (Phillips and Denne, 1988; Rook and Huckle, 1996), camcorders (Utsami et al, 2009) and GPS collars (Henkin et al, 2011) attached to the animals for automatic recording of foraging activities, have been used. Behavioural patterns displayed by the animal are useful indicators of the nutritional quality of the herbage being grazed (Dudzinski et al, 1982; Henkin et al, 2011). Grazing management systems that affect forage quality and quantity influence the foraging behaviour of the grazing animal

Objectives

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Discussion

Conclusion