Research Information System
27th international scientific-expert congress of agriculture and food industry, Bursa, Turkey, 26 - 28 September 2016, vol.30, pp.209-213
Structuring has become a significant issue in the environment of livestock in intensive production systems. In this study, 11-month old pregnant yearling goats with different spatial environmental history were used and their behavioral characteristics in a structured environment were assessed through their use of structuring objects. For this purpose, 8 yearlings with an unstructured spatial environmental history (unstructured group) and 10 yearlings with a structured spatial environmental history (structured group) were placed into two 5.5 x 5.5 m paddocks. The yearlings were monitored with a camera for 20 days in the paddocks, which were each equipped with a combined feeder, semi-automatic concentrate feeding, bunk, bridge and wood block. Video records of behavior and use of structuring objects were quantified by the 10 min. sampling method. The goats with a structured environmental history showed significant differences in resting and locomotion (P≤0.05). Yearlings with an unstructured environment history did not climb over the structuring objects (P≤0.05), except for the feeder and wood block. Intensive bipedal stance was observed in the yearlings with unstructured spatial environmental history. This indicates that bipedal stance is a species-specific behavior of goats.