Relationships of Taste, Smell, Sight, and Touch to Forage Selection

Abstract

Chemical impairment of taste, smell, and touch and physical obstruction of sight were studied in relation to forage preferences of sheep in a tall-forb plant community. Taste was the special sense most influential in directing forage preference; the other senses appeared to supplement taste. Sheep preferred sour and sweet plants and generally rejected bitter plants, although some were palatable. Smell was of minor importance in selection. Touch and sight related to such specific plant conditions as succulence and growth form. Simultaneous impairment of all four senses did not result in completely random selection, but did increase preference for unpalatable plants and decrease preference for palatable ones.