As you may already know, this is the second text in our series in the pasture management trilogy. In the first text, we talk about the great dilemma of managing pastures and delve into the subject of how plants grow. In this text, we will talk a little more about the behavior of grazing animals, how it works, your daily goals and strategies for meeting them. And in the next text, we pass the ruler with the end of the trilogy, we will bring the two things together (plant and animal) and talk about pasture management, how we overcome the great dilemma, where plants need leaves to grow and animals need leaves to feed. Ready? So let’s go!!
The daily mission of grazing animals
Unlike many of us, who sometimes ask ourselves in the morning: what am I going to do today? Or that we often have the luxury of a weekend and decide to do nothing and just hang around, with animals, in general, this story is very different. Herbivores have a daily mission when they get up in the morning (without a day off on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays), which is to reach the end of the day with a full belly and thus meet all their daily demand for nutrients. This challenge is not always easy to meet, as it is not uncommon to see animals that lose weight or cows that reduce their milk production at certain times of the year, meaning they are not able to meet their daily target. Furthermore, this challenge becomes even more complicated, as what animals consume on pasture today changes the quantity and quality of pasture available to them the next day or even in the coming weeks and months ahead. I really like a phrase by professor Paulo Carvalho from UFRGS that defines this, “the animal is the cause and consequence of the grazing process”. Deep, right!? I believe that many of you had not thought of it from this perspective. I confess to you that before understanding all this, I had no idea!
Herbivores, the experts in meeting goals
Now, let’s talk a little about the major factors that influence the creation of the animals’ strategy to arrive at the end with a feeling of accomplishment, for having reached their goal. Good thing, right?
I believe you have already seen the great documentaries about the African savannahs where they show large herds of Guinea or deer, always grazing somewhat suspiciously and when you least expect them they are attacked by a pride of hungry lionesses (yes, those who actually hunt are the lionesses). lionesses and not lions). Herbivores, generally in nature (cows, goats, sheep, buffaloes, horses), are prey for carnivores. Even with thousands of years of domestication of these species, they still carry the memory in their genetic memory: they feed as quickly as possible and then lie down ruminating (in the case of ruminants), just observing if everything is ok around them. This is instinctive and greatly influences the daily feeding strategy of these animals, eating the greatest amount of nutrients quickly and staying alert, so as not to be the meal of a hungry carnivore. And as you may know, the greatest amount of nutrients are found in pasture leaves.
The availability of leaves in the pasture is concentrated in the upper half of the canopy (tiller tangle), which is why when animals lower their heads, they consume half the height of the tillers. In other words, if the pasture is 10cm, in one piece, the animals consume 5cm, if the pasture is 20cm, the animals in one piece consume 10cm, if the pasture is 1m, they consume 50cm, and so on. (The figure below helps us illustrate what I’m saying). Thus, the strategy of filling the belly throughout the day is directly linked to the structure of the pasture that the animal finds in the paddock.
(Bocado)
Imagem: COAMO
Figure. Representation of the depth of the bit.
Image: Cangiano
Following this logic, if the pasture is very low, a small amount of pasture is harvested at each bite and filling your belly, harvesting little by little, becomes much more difficult. When the pasture is very high, close to 1m, filling its belly becomes much easier, as with each mouthful the animal harvests a lot. However, when we talk about efficiency in the harvesting process (harvesting more in less time, the instinct of herbivores), both situations are not so good.
The first is because there is a lack of pasture in quantity and the second, despite having enough, for the animal to put all that 50 cm cake of pasture “down its throat” and without the help of its paws, is not a very easy task and ends up wasting time. Here, there is a very interesting comparison when talking about quantity and quality of pasture. Very low pastures are basically composed of leaves, with very high quality. In higher pastures (as we saw in text 1 of the trilogy), the leaves are harder, the tillers already have a high proportion of stalks, and the quality of the pasture is already significantly lower. In low pastures, the problem is not quality but quantity, as the animals cannot harvest volume efficiently. In very tall pastures, quantity is not a problem but quality is a bit difficult to eat everything at once.
Having understood this, when the animal gets up in the morning, it already observes the pasture available in front of it, quickly puts together its strategy and starts printing its sequence of bites. If the pastures are very low (each mouthful harvests little pasture), the animals reduce the time between one mouthful and the next and accelerate their pace, moving very quickly with their heads down, in a style “I don’t have much to choose from, if I stop to think, there won’t be time to fill your belly.” Now, if the pasture is very high, then the animals are “tranquility personified”, they stop, take a few big bites, put all that mass inside, then walk a little further, stop and do the same thing, without much effort. despair (the figure below illustrates this process).
Do you know when you release a batch of animals into a paddock, which seemed to be very good and the next day you return to that area and the pasture is all crushed, it looks like it was trampled on for pleasure? This happens because when there is a lot of food available, the animals have the luxury of choosing, they walk a lot to select the best diet and end up using the pasture.
Figure – Illustration of the movement of grazing animals according to heights (high pastures on the left and low pastures on the right)
Image: Carvalho & Moraes (2005)
The definition of a very high or very low pasture is relative and varies greatly from forage species to forage species. A Campim Elefante at 30cm is a very low height, while a Tifton at this same height is already a very high pasture. Now, the next time you observe an animal grazing, notice the speed between bites and the speed at which it moves its front legs. If this happens too quickly, it is very likely that the pasture is too low. Another very common behavior to observe if there is little food on the “plate” is grazing times. Animals, like us, like comfort, which is why they concentrate their grazing peaks in the cooler hours of the day, early in the morning and late in the afternoon. If you see an animal grazing in full sun on a scorching hot day, you can be sure that it is trying to fill its belly by increasing its grazing time.
What is the ideal pasture for animals?
Obviously, of the two situations, between very low pastures and very high pastures, without a doubt the second is much better than the first. In fact, take note, 80% of the animals’ performance comes from the quantity of pasture and only 20% from the quality. When we look from the animal’s side, intermediate heights, not too high and not too low, are the best (it seems like you’ve heard this before, in text 1 of the trilogy, right?). Because when they graze at these times, they are able to consume grass in quantity (80% + important) and the quality of the grass is still very good, as the leaves are not yet so coarse and hard and it is easy to fulfill the other 20% of the quality. To know if a pasture is at the ideal height, observe the behavior of the animals, with each mouthful it takes a little time to put the pasture in, observe the front pastures, it moves, but at a rhythmic pace, intermediate to very low pastures and very tall.
Another very important thing to know if the pasture is at the ideal height for the animals, after a few hours with the animals grazing, look at the pasture, if it is wavy, with higher points and lower points it is a sign that they are being able to choose (Capim Mobaça in the figure below). Very even, uniform pastures, looking like a mower has been used, you can be sure, the animals are eating what they don’t want.
Mombaça grass with a very wavy structure, a sign that the animals were able to choose the best for their performance.
Stop trying to teach animals to graze!
We humans have this terrible habit of thinking that we are superior beings, that animals are irrational and only we can know what is best for them. As you may have noticed throughout this text, animals know very well how to put together the best strategy for the pasture they encounter throughout the day. Yes, they are selective, and that is very good, as they are making a tremendous effort to compose what is best for them. Keep in mind, our mission as pasture managers is the same as a restaurant owner who has the best buffet in town, to offer diversity and the best quality, letting our client, in our case “the ox”, choose what what’s best for him. It is in this completely natural way that animals are able to perform more, producing more milk, more weight gain, a higher pregnancy rate and more financial return. Think about it!!
Text: Armindo Barth Neto
Business and Relationship Consultant and Coordinator – SIA
Featured image: SIA Image Bank
