Sward canopy structure and the bite dimensions and bite weight of grazing sheep

Seventeen grass or oats swards, displaying a wide and largely independent variation in surface height and bulk density, were produced using different seed rates at sowing and different cutting or grazing pre-treatments. Four sheep confined in cages were allowed to take twenty bites from small patches of each sward, and measurements of bite weight and the physical dimensions of the average bite in the sward (bite depth, area and volume) were related to a range of sward structural characteristics.
Mean bite weight per sward ranged from 40 to 330 mg dry matter (DM). It was positively related to surface height (range 6–55 cm), which acted primarily upon bite depth and hence bite volume, and to the bulk density of the grazed stratum (range 0·1–2·0 mg DM cm ⁻³) which influenced bite weight directly. The effects of surface height and grazed stratum bulk density were independent and additive, resulting in a planar response surface.
The influence of sward variables on bite area was less clear than on bite depth, but within a given grass species the effect of surface height appeared to be positive and that of the population density of grazed leaves and stems negative. These findings are considered in relation to a theory concerning grazing mechanics.
The merits of the grazing cage technique are discussed and suggestions made for further work.