Ingestive Behavior of Cows in Pastures Andropogon gayanus and Brachiaria decumbens in Southern State of Piauí, Brazil

The research was conducted at the experimental farm of the Agricultural College of Bom Jesus, which is located at 135 km 3 BR, in the region of the valley Gurguéia southern state of Piauí. We used 10 crossbred cows of Holstein x Gir. The experimental design was completely randomized with two treatments (the pastures of grasses Andropogon gayanus and Brachiaria decumbens), with five replicates (five animals per treatment). The trial lasted five days. Two evaluations were made with duration of 24 hours each, conducted during a day, and the average of the two ratings was used in the statistical analyzes. The evaluations were performed on 20 to 24 July 2013. The cows grazed more time in the morning around 7-10 hours and late afternoon extending into the night with peak until 19-00 hours. The idle time was greater at the end of the night that matches the period of reduced grazing activity. The cows grazed more time during the day in the pasture of Brachiaria decumbens (8.53 hours) compared to pasture Andropogon gayanus (8.03 hours). With respect to time grazing night, the situation was reversed, the animals grazed longer during the day and slowed down during the night (3.16 hours grazing) in the pasture of Brachiaria decumbens. The animals had a higher number of bits (14128.92) in grazing Brachiaria decumbens compared to Andropogon gayanus (10134.00).