New research finds that not all cattle are the same when it comes to grazing, and knowing that could lead to better animal health and range conditions.
Not all cattle are the same when it comes to grazing. Some like to wander while others prefer to stay close to water and rest areas.
"If you're spending all this money to add a management tool in order to change the distribution of your animals, that's a huge cost to ranchers," said Creamer."Thinking about other tools, or selecting certain animals with these grazing traits, might be a better way to optimize the distribution on rangeland rather than spending a bunch of money for something that may ultimately not pan out for all your animals.
Across the two years, the cows showed consistent and distinct grazing patterns even when water sources changed. Age and stage of pregnancy did not affect patterns, though cattle tended to clump near water and rest sites on hotter days. Research due to be published later this year found that paying attention to individual cow reactions during those events can help determine personalities. The cows that appeared more passive during those handling interactions tended to be nomadic.
Macon said that during the recent drought, it was hard to get cattle into higher country, but if ranchers could have selected the nomads, it may have saved money in terms of ranch labor and other efforts. "Animal science tends to look overlook the mind of the animal when searching for solutions to challenges," Horback said."It's always been a direct line to genetics for immunity or nutrition, but nothing about the mind of the animal. And that's such a loss. There's so much we can learn from behavior in the end.
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