放牧牛の生理・生態に関する研究(I-1) : 放牧和牛の行動について

In order to clarify the habits of domestic animals put to pasture, we observed the behaviors of japanese black breed of cattle in the pasture of Kitanohara at the foot of Mt. Sanbe twice in the spring pasturing (the first on 31 May-3 June, and the second on 4-7 July) and twice in the autumn pasturing (the first on 8-11 October, and the Second on 4-7 November), 1958.
The behaviors of the cattles were classified into five types, i.e. grazing, resting (including rumination), loafing, migrating and drinking. According to this classification observations were made at twenty miuntes' intervals during all the investigations.
The data for each day were rearranged and converted into values per 1-hour in order to simplify the calculation. The figures used in the calculation shows the percentage of all animals in a group grazing,
resting, loafing, migrating or drinking.
From the data obtained, the following conclusions seem to be justified;
(1) There was no great variation of the grazing rate in all the investigation period; grazing activity was high at about 6:00-9:00 a.m. (88%-93%) and at 4:00-7:00 p.m. (74%-84%), and low at 2:00-5:00 a.m. (2%-8%), at 8:00-11:00 p.m. (3%-7%).
(2) The grazing rate in the daytime was about 17% higher in antumn than in spring and the grazing rate at night was about 5% higher in spring than in autumn.
(3) The grazing rate was higher in the second observation of both seasons than in the first.
(4) The variation curve of the resting rate in all observation periods showed the inverse proportion to that of the grazing rate.
(5) The lying rate in the resting was higher than the standing rate in both seasons, this tendency being especialy remarkable in the nighttime.
(6) There was no definte tendency in the loafing behavior, but before and after the grazing time (early in the morning, about at noon or arround the sunset time) this behavior was often observed.
(7) A definite tendency could not be recognized in the migrating and drinking behavior for want of the records obtained.
(8) The ruminating rate was higher in the nighttime than in the daytime.
(9) According to the observation in spring, the remastication rate was greater and the ruminating interval longer in the nighttime than in the daytime.