Behavior of Steers Grazing Several Varieties of Tall Fescue During Summer Conditions1

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Abstract
Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) toxicosis during summer grazing is characterized by decreased tolerance to environmental stress. The purpose of this study was to determine if this reduced tolerance causes changes in the behavioral patterns of steers (Bos spp.) grazing fescue pastures during summer conditions as has been shown under other conditions of environmental stress and sickness. During a 3‐year experiment to measure chemical characteristics of four lines of tall fescue and to study physiological responses of steers grazing these fescue varieties, observers monitored the behavior of steers at 1300 h daily and during two 24‐h periods on 9 Sept. and 12 Oct. 1978. Categories with the highest frequency included grazing, lying in the field and shade, and standing in the field and shade. Steers on G1‐307 (an experimental line which contained a low level of perloline) showed symptoms of fescue toxicosis and grazed 20% less, laid in the field 4% less, and laid and stood in shade 8 and 17% more, respectively, than the steers that grazed ‘Kentucky 31’, ‘Kenhy’, and G1‐306 (high level of perloline). All steers spent less time lying in field and more standing in shade on 9 September than 12 October. Results suggest that the grazing behavior of steers varied as a function of variety of tall fescue grazed, particularly during periods of climatic stress.

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