Evaluation of the effect of eprinomectin in young dairy heifers sub-clinically infected with gastrointestinal nematodes on grazing behaviour and diet selection

Inappetence is commonly associated with parasitism and has been observed in both housed and pastured ruminants. In seeking a functional explanation for these observations, it has been hypothesised that parasitized animals may feed more selectively in order to proportionally increase the protein content of their diet and thus partially compensate for their reduced feed intake. Support for this theory is found principally in studies in housed animals under carefully controlled experimental conditions. Grazing animals face a far more heterogeneous environment and a multiplicity of potentially confounding factors that could influence diet selection. Controlled grazing of adjacent monocultures of grass and clover can mitigate some of these variables and was used in the current study to examine the dietary preference of dairy heifers with sub-clinical parasitic gastroenteritis when compared to those receiving regular anthelmintic treatments. Grazing behaviour and herbage intake rates were determined through the use of jaw-movement recorders, direct observation and short-term liveweight change. Consistent with previous observations and despite evidence that nematode burdens were low in the untreated control heifers, a reduction in daily grazing time of 56 min ( P = 0.054) was observed in the control animals. There was, however, no evidence that the control heifers showed greater preference for clover compared with ryegrass: partial preference for clover was 73.0% in the untreated controls and 75.5% in the treated heifers. Furthermore control heifers were observed grazing the clover swards significantly ( P = 0.032) less frequently than the treated heifers. This study provides additional evidence in grazing cattle for parasite-induced inappetence, manifest as a reduction in grazing time and in subtle changes in ingestive behaviour. The observed partial preference for clover in both treated and control cattle was not significantly affected by the level of parasitism.