Seasonal Food Preferences of Cattle on Native Range in the South Texas Plains

Abstract

Cattle diets were studied on a predominantly native range in Hidalgo County, which is in the extreme southern part of Texas, from September, 1976, to November, 1977. Microhistological examination of cattle feces was used to determine the botanical composition of diets. Percentages of grasses, forbs, and browse consumed by cattle for the fall of 1976 and the winter, spring, summer, and fall of 1977, respectively, were: grasses-77.9, 81.2, 84.9,65.1,63.6;forbs-20.2;6.9,13.4,31.6,34.8;andbrowse-2.0, 11.9, 1.7,3.3, 1.6. Cattle showed an increasing preference for forbs during the summer and fall of 1977 as the availability of several grass species decreased. Roemer three-awn, red lovegrass, and hooded windmillgrass were the most utilized species, but they were eaten in about equal proportion to their availability. Buffelgrass, common Bermudagrass, and sedges were eaten in lesser amounts but were highly preferred. Perennial forbs, especially spreading sida and orange zexmenia were important components of the summer and fall diets. Pricklypear was the only important browse species which was important only in winter. These data indicated that perennial grasses made up the bulk of cattle diets on a predominantly native range in south Texas; however, perennial forbs were important seasonally.