Domestication and breeding objective did not shape the interpretation of physical and social cues in goats (Capra hircus).

Artificial selection by humans, either through domestication or subsequent selection for specific breeding objectives, drives changes in animal cognition and behaviour. However, most previous cognitive research comparing domestic and wild animals has focused on companion animals such as canids, limiting any general claims about the effects of artificial selection by humans. Using a cognitive test battery, we investigated the ability of wild goats (non-domestic, seven subjects), dwarf goats (domestic, not selected for milk production, 15 subjects) and dairy goats (domestic, selected for high milk yield, 18 subjects) to utilise physical and social cues in an object choice task.

Validation of automatic monitoring of feeding behaviours in sheep and goats.

Monitoring the feeding and ruminating behaviour of ruminants can be used to assess their health and welfare. The MSR-jaw movement recording system (JAM-R) can automatically record the jaw movements of ruminants. The associated software Viewer2 was developed to classify these recordings in adult cattle and calculate the duration and number of mastications of feeding and ruminating.

Dairy sheep and goats prefer the single components over the mixed ration.

Mixed rations provide ruminants with a balanced diet by aiming to prevent selective feeding. However, this is a natural behavior of sheep and goats based on their dietary needs and the nutritional properties of feedstuffs. Therefore, the present study investigates non-lactating dairy sheep's and goats' acceptance of a mixed ration when it is offered as choice next to its single components.

Responsiveness of domesticated goats towards various stressors following long-term cognitive test exposure.

Current evidence suggests that frequent exposure to situations in which captive animals can solve cognitive tasks may have positive effects on stress responsiveness and thus on welfare. However, confounding factors often hamper the interpretation of study results. In this study, we used human-presented object-choice tests (in form of visual discrimination and reversal learning tests and a cognitive test battery), to assess the effect of long-term cognitive stimulation (44 sessions over 4-5 months) on behavioural and cardiac responses of female domestic goats in subsequent stress tests.

Goats () From Different Selection Lines Differ in Their Behavioural Flexibility.

Given that domestication provided animals with more stable environmental conditions, artificial selection by humans has likely affected animals' ability to learn novel contingencies and their ability to adapt to changing environments. In addition, the selection for specific traits in domestic animals might have an additional impact on subjects' behavioural flexibility, but also their general learning performance, due to a re-allocation of resources towards parameters of productivity. To test whether animals bred for high productivity would experience a shift towards lower learning performance, we compared the performance of dwarf goats (not selected for production, 15 subjects) and dairy goats (selected for high milk yield, 18 subjects) in a visual discrimination learning and reversal learning task.

Animal-Based Indicators for On-Farm Welfare Assessment in Goats.

This review describes the current state of knowledge relating to scientific literature on welfare indicators for goats. Our aim was to provide an overview of animal-based indicators for on-farm welfare assessments. We performed a literature search and extracted 96 relevant articles by title, abstract, and full-text screening.

Animal-Based Indicators for On-Farm Welfare Assessment in Sheep.

The value society assigns to animal welfare in agricultural productions is increasing, resulting in ever-enhancing methods to assess the well-being of farm animals. The aim of this study was to review the scientific literature to obtain an overview of the current knowledge on welfare assessments for sheep and to extract animal-based welfare indicators as well as welfare protocols with animal-based indicators. By title and abstract screening, we identified five protocols and 53 potential indicators from 55 references.

Welfare Assessment in Calves Fattened According to the "Outdoor Veal Calf" Concept and in Conventional Veal Fattening Operations in Switzerland.

The "outdoor veal calf" system was developed to encounter the demand for a veal fattening system that allows for reducing antimicrobial use without impairing animal welfare. Management improvements including direct purchase, short transportation, vaccination, three-week quarantine in individual hutches, and open-air housing in small groups in a roofed, straw-bedded paddock with a group hutch were implemented in a prospective intervention study (1905 calves, 19 intervention and 19 control farms, over one year): antimicrobial use was five times lower in "outdoor veal" farms compared to control farms ( < 0.001), but it was crucial to ensure that antimicrobial treatment reduction was not associated with decreased animal welfare, i.

Under temperate weather conditions, dairy goats use an outdoor run more with increasing warmth and avoid light wind or rain.

Access to an outdoor run might provide some benefits for the social and activity behavior of dairy goats. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of weather parameters on outdoor run use by dairy goats under temperate weather conditions. Data were collected from February to April and in October, 2014, on 14 commercial dairy goat farms in Switzerland and Germany for 14 d per farm.

Determining suitable dimensions for dairy goat feeding places by evaluating body posture and feeding reach.

Confined goats spend a substantial part of the day feeding. A poorly designed feeding place increases the risk of feeding in nonphysiological body postures, and even injury. Scientifically validated information on suitable dimensions of feeding places for loose-housed goats is almost absent from the literature.

Context Specificity of the ANS Stress Response during Two Regrouping Experiments in Goats.

The aim of this study was to analyze whether the activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) differs between two regrouping procedures in goats, which would indicate stimulus specificity of these stressors. Applying two regrouping procedures, we evaluated heart rate and heart rate variability (RMSSD, SDNN, and RMSSD/SDNN). The two regrouping procedures were (1) introduction of individual goats into established groups ("introduction experiment") and (2) temporary separation and subsequent reintegration of individuals from/into their group with two levels of contact during separation ("separation experiment").

Spectrum of positional deformities - is there a real difference between plagiocephaly and brachycephaly?

Aim: This study analyses pathomorphological and physiological head shapes and classifies the pathomorphology in positional plagiocephaly and brachycephaly.

Patients And Methods: 78 infants with a positional plagiocephaly (5.99 months) and 32 infants with a positional brachycephaly (6.

Are head cues necessary for goats (Capra hircus) in recognising group members?

In this study, we investigated whether goats can distinguish a member of their own group from one belonging to a different group even when the head of the goat in question cannot be seen. In the experiment, a total of 45 adult female goats (walkers) were trained to walk along a passageway at the end of which they learnt to expect food (trial run). Walking down this corridor, they passed another adult female goat (stimulus goat) whose trunk and hind legs alone were visible.

Cardiac activity in dairy goats whilst feeding side-by-side at two different distances and during social separation.

When loose-housed dairy goats feed in close proximity to each other, frequent social conflicts are often reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the cardiac activity of dairy goats is affected when they are obliged to feed side-by-side in close proximity. In five dyads of goats each stemming from eight groups (8x5 dyads) differing in terms of grouping age and presence of horns, heart rate (HR) and root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (RMSSD) as a parameter of heart-rate variability were measured in two experimental situations differing in distance during feeding.