Ingestive behaviour of grazing ruminants: meta-analysis of the components of bite mass

Boval, Maryline; Sauvant, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2019.03.002

Cited by 33 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…During the first GS, grazing behavior was not affected by the HM treatments, with similar grazing, rumination and idling times. The increase in bite rate was the behavioral adaptation of MHM cows trying to maintain a high DMI, whereas in HHM the structure of the pasture (longer lamina length and greater lamina width) allowed a higher bite mass [22,23]. However, it should be noted that the process of DMI during the GS generated changes in the pasture structure in both treatments, which indicates that only during the first 60 min after the start of the GS the bite mass was greater in HHM.…”

Section: Grazing Behavior Herbage Intake and Herbage Disappearancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have indicated that bite mass is the most influential component of the DMI in grazing dairy cows [4,23,24], thus cows offered a HHM presented a higher DMI during the first 60 min of the GS, associated with the greater bite mass registered in this treatment during that time interval [22]. Thereafter, the bite mass was similar between treatments, due to the decrease in pasture height and therefore the available HM, which is consistent with the results of Stakelum and Dillon [25] and Gregorini et al [4].…”

Section: Grazing Behavior Herbage Intake and Herbage Disappearancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Pre-Grazing Herbage Mass Affects Grazing Behavior, Herbage Disappearance, and the Residual Nutritive Value of a Pasture during the First Grazing Session

Piña

Balocchi

Keim

et al. 2020

Animals

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During the first hours after the allocation of a grazing strip (first grazing session, GS), dairy cows eat most of the daily dry matter (DM) available. There are few studies that analyze how the grazing-down process changes the characteristics of the pasture during the first GS. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two pre-grazing herbage masses (HM; medium herbage mass (MHM) and high herbage mass (HHM) on the DM disappearance, grazing behavior of dairy cows, and the residual nutritive value of a pasture during the first GS. Two groups of twelve dairy cows were used to evaluate the grazing-down process, during a period of 62 days. The pre-grazing HM modified the bite rate, bite mass, and dry matter intake during the first GS. The pre-grazing HM affected the process of herbage disappearance of the pasture, especially during the first 60 min of the GS. The nutrient selection differential for acid detergent fiber was greater for HHM compared with MHM (0.93 vs. 0.86). In conclusion, pre-grazing HM affects the structural characteristics and the residual nutritive value of the pasture. The grazing process in the first GS was modified by the HM, affecting the defoliation and the DM disappearance rate of the pasture.

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Section: Grazing Behavior Herbage Intake and Herbage Disappearancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Grazing Behavior Herbage Intake and Herbage Disappearancementioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Grazing Herbage Mass Affects Grazing Behavior, Herbage Disappearance, and the Residual Nutritive Value of a Pasture during the First Grazing Session

Piña

Balocchi

Keim

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…Moreover, these results also underline the importance of a detailed evaluation and description of sward height distribution in grazing experiments. Whereas some meta-analyses that focused on grazing behavior [73] or production [74] used herbage allowance as a predictor, we argue that herbage allowance is an insufficient metric to determine the grazing mechanisms that link pasture growth and animal performance. Finally, more than using a single variable to describe and manage systems, new approaches for grazing management should explore all management variables that can be controlled, such as number, mass and species of animals, timing and duration of grazing and rest periods, and paddock area and shape.…”

Section: Herbage Allowance and Paddock Sizementioning

confidence: 80%

Mechanisms of Grazing Management in Heterogeneous Swards

2020

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We explored the effects of heterogeneity of sward height on the functioning of grazing systems through a spatially implicit mechanistic model of grazing and sward growth. The model uses a population dynamic approach where a sward is spatially structured by height, which changes as a function of defoliation, trampling, and growth. The grazing component incorporates mechanisms of bite formation, intake, and digestion rates, but excludes sward quality effects. Sward height selection is determined by maximization of the instantaneous intake rate of forage dry mass. For any given average sward height, intake rate increased with increasing spatial heterogeneity. Spatio-temporal distribution of animal density over paddocks did not markedly affect animal performance but it modified the balance of vegetation heterogeneity within and between paddocks. Herbage allowance was a weak predictor of animal performance because the same value can result from multiples combinations of herbage mass per unit area, number of animals, animal liveweight, and paddock area, which are the proximate determinants of intake rate. Our results differ from models that assume homogeneity and provide strong evidence of how heterogeneity influences the dynamic of grazing systems. Thus, we argue that grazing management and research need to incorporate the concept of heterogeneity into the design of future grazing systems.

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“…Drawbacks of missing data are more important when complicated or expensive measures are concerned and it can limit the interest to perform meta-analysis. As an example, in a recent meta-analysis focused on grazing behavior of ruminants (Boval and Sauvant, 2019), a database of 109 publications (npub), 263 experiments (nexp) and 905 treatment means (n) was gathered. The most measured behavioral item was the bite mass (npub = 65, nexp = 167 and n = 580), measured in 64% of the treatments.…”

Section: Inter σ²Ymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Often, but not systematically, the code of the publications can be used to study an interaction. For instance, Boval and Sauvant (2019) studied the marginal influences of SH and HBD on bite mass through two types of independent experiments focused on either SH (nexp = 51, n = 296) or HBD (nexp = 15, n = 45) impacts. To model the interaction, a set of 30 publications (n = 339), including not only these two types of experiments but also some other experiments with both data, were selected.…”

Section: The Meta-designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Use and misuse of meta-analysis in Animal Science

Sauvant

Létourneau-Montminy

Schmidely

et al. 2020

Animal

Self Cite

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In animal sciences, the number of published meta-analyses is increasing at a rate of 15% per year. This current review focuses on the good practices and the potential pitfalls in the conduct of meta-analyses in animal sciences, nutrition in particular. Once the study objectives have been defined, several key phases must be considered when doing a meta-analysis. First, as a principle of traceability, criteria used to select or discard publications should be clearly stated in a way that one could reproduce the final selection of data. Then, the coding phase, aiming to isolate specific experimental factors for an accurate graphical and statistical interpretation of the database, is discussed. Following this step, the study of the levels of independence of factors and of the degree of data balance of the meta-design represents an essential phase to ensure the validity of statistical processing. The consideration of the study effect as fixed or random must next be considered. It appears based on several examples that this choice does not generally have any influence on the conclusions of a meta-analysis when the number of experiments is sufficient.

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Ingestive behaviour of grazing ruminants: meta-analysis of the components of bite mass

Cited by 33 publications

References 43 publications

Pre-Grazing Herbage Mass Affects Grazing Behavior, Herbage Disappearance, and the Residual Nutritive Value of a Pasture during the First Grazing Session

Pre-Grazing Herbage Mass Affects Grazing Behavior, Herbage Disappearance, and the Residual Nutritive Value of a Pasture during the First Grazing Session

Mechanisms of Grazing Management in Heterogeneous Swards

Review: Use and misuse of meta-analysis in Animal Science

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