Ingestive behavior of crossbred cows (Holstein/Zebu) in rotational grazing on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu

In this study, it was evaluated the ingestive behavior of 10 cows with average weight of 500 kg, 5 years of age and producing a mean of 18 kg of milk/day, which were close to 60 days of lactation. The animals were kept in an area of 3 ha, in rotational grazing on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. The experiment was conducted in a period of four months, in which were evaluated grazing, ruminating and other activities. The behavioral records were taken during a period of 24 hours at regular intervals of 10 minutes. These collects occurred in six times, half at the rainy season an half at the dry season, being used the “scan-sampling” method (Setz, 1991). A completely randomized design was used, consisting of two treatments with 10 replicates. The ingestive behavior of crossbred cows (Holstein/Zebu) was not influenced by the seasons of year.