This study was conducted aimed to clarify the effects of pasturage experience on the grazing behavior and the process of acclimatization of sheep in a less favored area.

In observation 1, six lambs without pasturage experience were introduced to the abandoned cultivated field, and change of grazing behavior and place use were observed for 2 months in 2010.  In observation 2, eight ewes with or without pasturage experience (four ewes each) were introduced to the same area of experiment 1, and change of grazing behavior, place use and the distance between individuals were observed for 2 months in 2013.

In observation 1, all lambs stayed in the area with an entrance for most of time on the next day following introduction.  In contrast, all ewes used a wide area on just after introduction in observation 2.  This might be the ewes without pasturage experience followed the ewes with pasturage experience.  In observation 2, the differences of place use and the individual distance by pasturage experience were found on the just after introduction.  The ewes with experience used many areas significantly, and moved frequently, and showed the relatively long individual distances.  After 19 days of introduction, although the ewes with pasturage experience used more wide areas than ewes without pasturage experience, there is no difference at other two measurements, and all three measurements of difference is no longer observed in 57 days after introduction.

In conclusion, the sheep without pasturage experience was judged to have acclimatized to the ranch place about two months after introduction, and it was suggested that it is desirable to graze the sheep herd including individuals with pasturage experience in use of an abandoned cultivated field.

Four fattened Suffolk wethers were used to evaluate hogget production and slaughtering performance of 17 to 18 months old Suffolk fed with forage based diets.  The animals were fed timothy hay with commercial concentrate diet (THD) or Italian ryegrass straw with commercial concentrate diet (IRD) for 13 months of feeding period.  The both forages were offered to the animals at 2% BW (dry matter (DM) basis), and concentrate was fed at 40% of forage intake (as fed basis).  The both diets were offered to achieve 100 g of daily gain (DG).  The animals were housed in pens, and were fed two equal sized meals at 09.00 and 16.00 hours throughout the experiment.  At the terminal of 13 months of fattening period, the animals were slaughtered.  After slaughtering, evisceration, dressing, carcass, gastro-intestinal contents and all organs were individually weighed.

Average DG gain for the experimental period for THD and IRD was 85 and 49 g/d.  Feed efficiency (g DG/kg DM intake) was numerically higher for THD than that for IRD.  However, dressing rate and lean meat weight per empty body weight (EBW) were identical for both diets.  The carcass weight and lean meat weight were numerically greater for THD as compared to IRD, and the weight of subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat, their weight ratio to EBW were also showed greater values for THD than for IRD.  From the point of view of hogget lean meat production performance, greater feeding efficiency of low quality Italian ryegrass straw was prominent as compared to timothy hay in current study.