The objective of this trial was to compare and determine the most adequate time interval to register chewing activity in Santa Inês sheep. The following time intervals were investigated: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes. Eighteen intact male sheep averaging 22.62 kg of body weight at the beginning of the study were used. Animals were housed in individual pens and randomly assigned to one of six treatments: ammonia-treated elephantgrass or elephatgrass supplemented with three concentrates sources (0% cocoa meal and palm kernel cake, 40% cocoa meal, and 40% palm kernel cake partially replacing corn and soybean meal) in a forage:concentrate ratio of 60:40. Chewing activity (time spent eating, ruminanting, and idle) was measured during two 24 hours periods at the end of the experimental period. There was no significant difference in the time spent eating, ruminating and idle among the studied intervals. However, significant differences were observed for the number of meals, rumination, and idle activities as well as for the mean time spent at each of these individual activities. It can be concluded that time spent eating, ruminating, and idle can be measured at every 30 minutes interval in Santa Inês sheep while five minutes interval was required to register the number and the mean time spent at each chewing activity.
ammoniation; cocoa meal; feeding behaviour; scale
