An understanding of the processes involved in grazing behaviour is a prerequisite for the design of efficient grassland management systems. The purpose of managing the grazing process is to identify sward structures that can maximize animal forage daily intake and optimize grazing time. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of different grazing management strategies on foraging behaviour and herbage intake by sheep grazing Italian ryegrass under rotational stocking. The experiment was carried out in 2015 in southern Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with two grazing management strategies and four replicates. The grazing management treatments were a traditional rotational stocking (RT), with pre- and post-grazing sward heights of 25 and 5 cm, respectively, and a ‘Rotatinuous’ stocking (RN) with pre- and post-grazing sward heights of 18 and 11 cm, respectively. Male sheep with an average live weight of 32 ± 2.3 kg were used. As intended, the pre- and post-grazing sward heights were according to the treatments. The pre-grazing leaf/stem ratio of the Italian ryegrass pasture did not differ between treatments (P > 0.05) (~2.87), but the post-grazing leaf/stem ratio was greater (P < 0.001) in the RN than in the RT treatment (1.59 and 0.76, respectively). The percentage of the non-grazed area was greater (P < 0.01) in post-grazing for RN compared with RT treatment, with an average of 29.7% and 3.49%, respectively. Herbage nutritive value was greater for the RN than for the RT treatment, with greater CP and lower ADF and NDF contents. The total time spent grazing, ruminating and resting did not differ between treatments (P > 0.05), with averages of 439, 167 and 85 min, respectively. The bite rate, feeding stations per min and steps per min by sheep were greater (P < 0.05) in the RN than in the RT treatment. The grazing time per hour and the bite rate were greater (P < 0.05) in the afternoon than in the morning in both treatments. The daily herbage intake by sheep grazing Italian ryegrass was greater (P < 0.05) in the RN than in the RT treatment (843.7 and 707.8 g organic matter/sheep, respectively). Our study supports the idea that even though the grazing time was not affected by the grazing management strategies when the animal behaviour responses drive management targets, such as in ‘Rotatinuous’ stocking, the sheep herbage intake is maximized, and the grazing time is optimized.

了解放牧行为所涉及的过程是设计高效草地管理系统的先决条件。管理放牧过程的目的是确定可以最大限度地提高动物每日草料摄入量并优化放牧时间的草地结构。我们的目的是评估不同放牧管理策略对轮牧下放牧意大利黑麦草的绵羊的觅食行为和草料摄入量的影响。该实验于 2015 年在巴西南部进行。实验设计是一个具有两种放牧管理策略和四次重复的随机完整区组。放牧管理处理是传统的轮养 (RT)，放牧前和放牧后的草地高度分别为 25 和 5 厘米，以及放牧前和放牧后草地高度分别为 18 厘米和 11 厘米的“轮转”放养 (RN)。使用平均活重为 32 ± 2.3 kg 的公羊。正如预期的那样，放牧前和放牧后的草地高度根据处理。意大利黑麦草牧场的放牧前叶/茎比在处理之间没有差异（P > 0.05) (~2.87)，但 RN 的放牧后叶/茎比 ( P < 0.001) 大于 RT 处理 (分别为 1.59 和 0.76)。与 RT 相比，RN 放牧后非放牧面积的百分比更高（P < 0.01），平均分别为 29.7% 和 3.49%。RN 处理的草本营养价值高于 RT 处理，CP 更高，ADF 和 NDF 含量更低。放牧、反刍和休息的总时间在处理之间没有差异（P > 0.05），平均分别为439、167和85分钟。羊的咬口率、每分钟喂食站数和每分钟步数均较大（P< 0.05) 在 RN 中比在 RT 治疗中。两个处理的每小时放牧时间和咬合率在下午均大于上午（ P < 0.05）。放牧意大利黑麦草的绵羊的每日草料摄入量在 RN 中大于在 RT 处理中（分别为 843.7 和 707.8 g 有机质/羊） （ P < 0.05）。我们的研究支持这样的观点，即即使放牧时间不受放牧管理策略的影响，当动物行为反应驱动管理目标时，例如在“轮换”放养中，羊草的摄入量最大化，放牧时间得到优化。