Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Evaluating grazing strategies for cattle: Nutrition of cattle and deer
Author
Ortega, I. M.
Soltero-Gardea, S.
Drawe, D. L.
Bryant, F. C.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1997-11-01
Body

We studied cattle and deer diet quality within replicated grazing treatments of continuous and short-duration grazing at heavy and moderate stocking rates. The study was conducted at the Welder Wildlife Refuge, Sinton, Tex. from October 1987 to July 1989. We obtained cattle diet samples from esophageally fistulated steers. Deer diets were reconstructed using data obtained through the bite-count technique. Digestibility (IVDOM) and crude protein (CP) of cattle diets were similar between grazing systems and stocking rates. Digestibility of deer diets was affected by both grazing systems and stocking rate. Dietary CP and IVDOM of deer and cattle diets both differed among seasons. Dietary CP levels met maintenance requirements for deer throughout the study. Also, CP levels were high enough to meet low- to mid-gestation requirements. Deer dietary protein requirements for growth and lactation were never met regardless of grazing strategy. Although protein content of cattle diets was relatively low, these values satisfied cattle maintenance needs. Nursing cows, however, would not have met their requirement in any season sampled regardless of grazing system or stocking rates. Continuous grazing and moderate stocking rates may provide white-tailed deer the opportunity for selecting diets containing more desirable forbs and greater nutrient concentration. Less intensive rotational grazing at moderate rates may be preferred to maintain a relatively high seral stage. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/4003459
Additional Information
Ortega, I. M., Soltero-Gardea, S., Drawe, D. L., & Bryant, F. C. (1997). Evaluating grazing strategies for cattle: Nutrition of cattle and deer. Journal of Range Management, 50(6), 631-637.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644100
Journal Volume
50
Journal Number
6
Journal Pages
631-637
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
energy content
protein content
continuous grazing
Odocoileus virginianus
stocking rate
species differences
rotational grazing
crude protein
in vitro digestibility
range management
botanical composition
beef cattle
feeding preferences