Agonistic behaviour of dairy goats and sheep during feeding – A pilot study on Swiss farms with mixed rations

Abstract

12 dairy goat and 12 sheep farms were visited. The feeding facilities, the feeding management and the composition of the rations fed were recorded. To make a comparison between species, the number of animals feeding simultaneously and the number and types of agonistic interactions during feeding were assessed by direct observations. They were conducted for 6 hours after the morning feeding. It was hypothesized that goats and Schlüsselwörter: Fressverhalten, Sozialverhalten; kleine Wiederkäuer, Bauernhof can be decreased by offering more feeding places.