Walking, Watering and Grazing Behaviour of Merino Sheep on Two Semi-Arid Rangelands in South-West New South Wales.

Abstract

Distance walked per day, time and frequency of drinking, volume of water consumed and grazing distribution of Merino sheep flocks on a saltbush (Atriplex vesicaria) and a grassland (Danthonia caespitosalStipa variabilis) community were assessed during summer. Both sites were located within the same region and observed simultaneously for three consecutive days in each of the four months December, January, February and March. The sheep on the saltbush site (1 3 10 ha) grazed as a single flock or as several large subflocks ( >300 sheep) and spent much of their time grazing on a relatively small proportion of the paddock. Drinking frequency was once daily in early summer and twice daily in late summer. The volume of water consumed varied from 2.3 l/day in December to 9.3 l/day in March. Average daily distance walked reflected the change in frequency of drinking and ranged from 8 km/day in December (once daily drinking) to 14 km/day in March (twice daily drinking). Subgrouping occurred on the grassland site (910 ha) where as few as two or three sheep would graze at distances of 10-200 m from other subgroups. Drinking frequency was once daily and volume of water consumed varied from 0.6 l/day in early summer (December) to 3.1 l/day in late summer (March). Average daily distance walked was 4.7 km/day with a peak of 6.2 km/day in late summer when forage on offer had fallen to low levels.