Because of the fact that the herds often split into
two sub-groups, three observers were used, one working
alone and the others together. The observer working
alone observed one sub-group and used a portable tape
recorder so that observations could be made without having
to interrupt observing the animals in order to record
behaviour. The observers working together observed the
second subgroup, with one observing the cattle and calling
the behaviour to the other who recorded it. This also
meant that the observations could be made without having
to interrupt observations. Data were collected by the
technique of instantaneous scanning at intervals of 15 min.
In order to do this, all of the animals that could be seen were
observed in one continuous scan, with the observers starting
at one end of the group and scanning horizontally until
all animals had been observed without removing their eyes
from the herd. As each animal was seen, its behaviour at
that instant was recorded. Behaviour was described using
three categories, which had been predetermined based on
previous experience with cattle at pasture. These were the
location in the paddock where the behaviour occurred, primary
behaviour and secondary behaviour.