An experiment was conducted in the springtime with the objective of characterizing the behavior of Romane ewe lambs under the changing grazing and weather conditions of La Fage INRA Farm (France). Fifteen ewes (38.1 ± 2.2 kg BW; 11 mo) were submitted to a rotational grazing system during 2 mo (stocking rate: 15 ewes/ha). The 1 ha pastureland (mix of grass-legume; Table 1), was divided in 27 paddocks (~290 m²) with grazing stays of 2 to 3 d/paddock. The biomass availability and its nutritive value (NV) increased and decreased with time, whereas average temperature and rainfall were 14.7°C and 2.24 mm/d, respectively. Four equidistant days were scheduled to record the time spent for grazing (GRZ), ruminating (RUM), walking (WALK), resting (REST), standing (STD), urinating (URI) or defecating (DEF). Visual observations were made by 2 operators every 10 min. during 24-h. Notations combined 2 behaviors if required (e.g., GRZ while WALK) and were based on the % of animals in one or another activity each time. The MIXED procedure, with repeated measures, of SAS was used for data analyses. Ewe behavior was significantly modified by biomass quality. As the experiment advanced, NV was affected and more time was spent for GRZ, which normally started after dawn (~0500 h), with peaks at 0540, 0930, 1550, 1740 h, and finally from 1920 to 2100 h. The GRZ-REST cycles were coordinated. The 100% ewes were in REST from midnight until dawn. The REST was significantly related to RUM, mainly during the morning and afternoon. The URI and DEF peaks were at noon and during the night. These results are original as minimal literature is available regarding detailed 24-h diurnal behavior of grazing sheep. These data provide new opportunities for improving flock management and the efficiency of using the available biomass based on the combined dynamics of individual and mob-based grazing behaviors during the day. Table 1. Herbage quality (% DM) at the entrance (In) and exit (Out) from each paddock

Test day	DM			OM			CP			NDF			ADF			ADL			DMD
In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out	In	Out
D1	22	23.5		93.0	92.7		13.3	9.8		48.8	48.9		24.5	24.5		3.7	3.0		68.3	67.1
D2	29	51.0		95.2	94.5		8.6	7.5		58.9	60.4		31.3	34.1		4.7	6.2		56.5	51.4
D3	35	56.0		91.6	94.4		7.7	4.7		52.6	59.6		30.0	33.3		5.9	5.3		57.9	51.7
D4	43	27.0		92.3	94.7		6.4	6.2		54.8	63.2		31.2	35.1		5.9	6.6		56.3	47.6