Co‐Grazing of Sheep and Cattle on an Orchardgrass Sward

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The objective was to determine whether there is any advantage to co‐grazing, i.e., the grazing of cattle and sheep together, relative to grazing either species separately. The study was conducted over four successive grazing seasons on a highly fertilized sward that was a mixture of Ladino clover (Trifolium repens L.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) the first season and nearly pure orchardgrass thereafter.Two apparent effects of co‐grazing were observed: First, an increase in rate of gain of sheep grazed with cattle at a ratio of five sheep per steer. This greater rate of gain, however, did not result in a greater liveweight gain/ha of cattle and sheep combined. Available forage was maintained at fixed levels, and the lack of any advantage in total gain/ha to co‐grazing at a ratio of 1 steer per 5 sheep is discussed in relation to similar experiments in which an advantage to co‐grazing was observed, but in which the effects of cattle:sheep ratio and available forage were confounded.Second, at one sheep per steed the animals were cograzed without affecting the rate of gain of the steers, but with an apparent increase in liveweight gain/ha relative to either cattle or to sheep grazed separately. This apparent effect of co‐grazing, however, was probably the result of a subtle increase in stocking rate that could have been brought about by either species independently of the other and, therefore, is not attributable to cograzing per se.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: