Comparison of two automatic methods for measuring grazing behaviour

摘要

Visual observation of grazing behaviour is time consuming and not easy during night So, automatic recording systems of grazing activities are interesting insofar as they allow to collect information during long periods and night. We compared two of these systems. The first one, APEC, was developed by the INRA station, Theix. It measures, with a good reliability, eating and rumination by recording jaw movements (Brouillette et al, 1993, JDS, 76, suppl.1, 405). APEC includes a pneumatic transducer, fixed under the jaw, and a data logger.