Abstract

PALMA, José M  and  ROMAN, Leonor. Changes on the intake behavior of ovines when modifying the initial high of grazing of Leucaena leucocephala. Zootecnia Trop. [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.3, pp.371-374. ISSN 0798-7269.

The objective of this work was to determine the changes on the intake behavior of ovines when modifying the initial high of grazing of Leucaena leucocephala. The statistical analysis was an analysis of variance using x² with test of Kruskal-Wallis, for which 10 females of the Pelibuey breed were used and the initial heigh of the treatments were T₁ 60, T₂ 100, T₃ 140, and T₄ 180 cm. Before and after grazing, biomass both total and in layers of height 0-60, 60 - 100, 100 -140, and 140 - 180 cm were taken. Grazing lasted 4 h per day (from 9:00 to 13:00 h). The activity of the animals was registered and how they consumed the plant, by direct vision for each individual every 10 min. The results showed significant differences (P<0.05) for utilization, time dedicated to the consumption of the legumes, and position of the head to consume plant. An inverse relation was obtained for utilization and initial height, with a decrease in the utilization of 93.2% for T₁ to 35.9% for T₄, with a similar behavior among layers. The position of the head varied, depending on the availability of the foliage and height. The initial height of the pasture modified the utilization, form, and consuming time for sheep on L. leucocephala with the best values for initial height of 100 cm.

Keywords : habit; tree; legumes; sheep.

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