A Preliminary Study on Grazing Pattern of Sheep Transhumance in Turkey

Abstract

Grazing activities of indigenous sheep breed of the Turkish breed Karakaş and Koçeri which were transhumance flocks were investigated in a typical unimproved mountainous pasture in the East of Turkey. Data were collected from two different flocks on main daily activities (grazing, resting, moving or standing) every fifteen minutes. The characteristics of the pastures around the routes were assessed according to CORINE Land Cover classification system. Standing was a residual activity in both study paths. The animals concentrated their activity mostly on grazing while resting and moving occurred in specific times during the whole grazing period. Once the animals were heading back to their main settlement areas to be milked, grazing activity have been increased. Further studies on grazing behavior and changes in land cover will help to adjust the management strategies to the available natural resources.