This study was conducted as part of a broad ecosystem project to identify and quantify some of the significant relationships between cattle and their environment. Over a period of 1 year, monthly measurements were made of Africander cattle ranging on mixed tree savanna in the Transvaal, Republic of South Africa. The following data were obtained: feed intake, liveweight change, crude protein content (CP) and digestibility of the diet, as well as the time which was spent feeding and mean bite size. Both CP and digestibility of diets influenced the liveweight change of the cattle, but only digestibility influenced their feed intake. Their daily feeding time was short enough and their mean bite size was large enough to suggest that the accessibility and distribution of preferred plant species within the savanna did not directly limit their feed intake. Nutritional requirements of the cattle could be estimated from relationships between some of the factors, the most accurate relationship being that between digestible CP intake and liveweight change of the cattle. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. 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
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.