Movement orders in spontaneous group movements in cattle: 6-year monitoring of a beef cow herd with changing composition

Few studies have investigated group movements of domestic ungulates in farming conditions where the groups are subjected to repeated composition changes across years. We stocked a beef cow herd (23–34 cows; some with a calf) maintained in a farm in a grazing plot comprising two subplots, and monitored inter-subplot movements of cows on 39 days for 6 years. Movements of the entire cow herd, pooled over the two directions, occurred 4–23 times daily. Time required for individual movements ranged from