Individual distance during resting and feeding in age homogeneous vs. age heterogeneous groups of goats

Bøe, Knut Egil; Ehrlenbruch, Rebecca; Jørgensen, Grete Helen Meisfjord; Andersen, Inger Lise

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2013.04.024

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Results in both studies indicate that there is a clear, consistent difference between the highest density (1 m 2 ) compared to the others in use of space, but there were fewer differences between the 2 and 3 m 2 situations regarding the use of space. In an earlier study in experimental conditions with a smaller group size allowing as much as 3 meters between goats, the individuals placed themselves at a distance comparable to our findings, 2.5–3 meters, on average [ 22 ]. The fact that goats keep similar interindividual distances in 2 and 3 m 2 conditions may indicate a threshold density.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…In our study, the lower densities allowed for larger individual differences in spacing behaviour, which is an important quality aspect when designing a farm environment in terms of welfare. For instance, goats have larger variation in individual distances when feeding compared to when resting [ 22 , 49 ] and when food resources are limited in space compared to dispersed [ 49 ]. As prominent individual differences were described in more restricted environments (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, frequency of social interactions depends highly on type of food, goats being more competitive when more preferred hay is offered in comparison to less preferred and lower nutritional quality silage (e.g. [ 22 , 64 ]). Therefore although the spacing behaviour is not likely to become affected by a different feeding regime in the end of gestation, the other behaviours can be greatly affected by this and may explain a large extent of the effects of gestation period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite both species being small ruminants, sheep and goats show remarkable differences in spacing behaviour: for example, while sheep spend at least 60% of resting time lying in physical contact with a group mate, goats do so less than 16% of time [ 19 – 21 ]. Studies on the spacing behaviour of goats show that the individual distance (called also as personal space) or the inter-individual distance depend on the quality of social bonds between the individuals [ 4 ] and on the age difference between goats [ 22 ]. In contrast, the results are inconsistent regarding effects of familiarity of the animals with each other [ 4 ] or the presence or absence of horns [ 4 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studying the spatial distribution of farm animals is not only crucial when advising on space allocation requirements but also when understanding the spatial dynamics in social groups for designing more optimal environments [ 7 ]. Although goats are highly social, they also possess a need for individual space which could differ depending on both animal-related parameters such as activities [ 22 ], familiarity (in horses [ 32 ]), group size (e.g. in sheep [ 9 , 11 , 33 , 34 ], poultry [ 35 – 38 ], horses [ 32 ]), stage of pregnancy (in sheep [ 8 ]) and asocial environment-related indices such as space allowance (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Density-Dependent Spacing Behaviour and Activity Budget in Pregnant, Domestic Goats (Capra hircus)

Vas

Andersen

2015

PLoS ONE

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Very little is known about the spacing behaviour in social groups of domestic goats (Capra hircus) in the farm environment. In this experiment, we studied interindividual distances, movement patterns and activity budgets in pregnant goats housed at three different densities. Norwegian dairy goats were kept in stable social groups of six animals throughout pregnancy at 1, 2 or 3 m2 per individual and their spacing behaviours (i.e. distance travelled, nearest and furthest neighbour distance) and activity budgets (e.g. resting, feeding, social activities) were monitored. Observations were made in the first, second and last thirds of pregnancy in the mornings, at noon and in the afternoons of each of these phases (4.5 hours per observation period). The findings show that goats held at animal densities of 2 and 3 m2 moved longer distances when they had more space per animal and kept larger nearest and furthest neighbour distances when compared to the 1 m2 per animal density. Less feeding activity was observed at the high animal density compared to the medium and low density treatments. The phase of gestation also had an impact on almost all behavioural variables. Closer to parturition, animals moved further distances and the increase in nearest and furthest neighbour distance was more pronounced at the lower animal densities. During the last period of gestation, goats spent less time feeding and more on resting, social behaviours and engaging in other various activities. Our data suggest that more space per goat is needed for goats closer to parturition than in the early gestation phase. We concluded that in goats spacing behaviour is density-dependent and changes with stages of pregnancy and activities. Finally, the lower density allowed animals to express individual preferences regarding spacing behaviour which is important in ensuring good welfare in a farming situation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Density-Dependent Spacing Behaviour and Activity Budget in Pregnant, Domestic Goats (Capra hircus)

Vas

Andersen

2015

PLoS ONE

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2024

Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists

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Maternal deprivation affects goat kids’ social behavior before and after weaning

Toinon

Waiblinger

Rault

2022

Developmental Psychobiology

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Maternal deprivation has been shown to disrupt the development of neonates. Nevertheless, separating the young animals from their dams soon after birth is a common practice in dairy farming. We investigated the effects of maternal deprivation on goat kids' (Capra hircus) social behavior and social ontogeny before and after weaning.Twenty female kids were raised together with their dams (DR kids) and other lactating goats and kids, whereas 20 female kids were separated from their dams 3 days after birth and artificially reared together (AR kids). At weaning, each treatment group was split in half and moved into two new pens where they were mixed with the other treatment group. Social behaviors were recorded before and after weaning. Before weaning, AR kids were observed performing more play-fighting, racing, stepping on each other, and standing in contact with each other than DR kids, but AR allogroomed less and spent less time resting alone than DR kids. After weaning and mixing of the treatments, DR kids initiated more and received less agonistic interactions than AR kids, but this difference reduced across the 5 weeks of observations as AR kids appeared to progressively change their social behavior after interacting with DR kids.

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Individual distance during resting and feeding in age homogeneous vs. age heterogeneous groups of goats

Cited by 11 publications

References 30 publications

Density-Dependent Spacing Behaviour and Activity Budget in Pregnant, Domestic Goats (Capra hircus)

Density-Dependent Spacing Behaviour and Activity Budget in Pregnant, Domestic Goats (Capra hircus)

References

Maternal deprivation affects goat kids’ social behavior before and after weaning

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