Changes in grazing behaviour of native and crossbred sheep in different seasons under semi-arid conditions

Thirty-four non-pregnant 2-year-old ewes (17 Chokla (native) and 17 Avivastra (67.5% Chokla and 32.5% Rambouillet), of similar body weight, were maintained under the same management conditions with 8 hours daily grazing in an area with bushes, trees and miscellaneous other forage. The periods of active grazing, resting, resting while standing and lying, ruminating while standing or lying, walking time while grazing and bites per minute were recorded. The resting time differed significantly between the breeds, except in the winter. Both breeds spent more time standing during the summer and least during the spring. The crossbred animals spent more time lying in all the seasons except in the rainy season and almost the same pattern was observed for rumination time. A higher bite rate occurred in the crossbred ewes during the rainy and winter seasons, this being three times more than that for the native ewes.