Behaviour of goats, sheep and cattle and their selection of browse species on natural pasture in a Sahelian area

Sanon, Hadja Oumou; Kaboré-Zoungrana, Chantal Yvette; Ledin, Inger

doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2005.09.025

Cited by 130 publications

(117 citation statements)

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“…Conversely, considering all plant species and phenological stages, the most selected plant parts in GF were shrub and tree leaves, probably as a consequence of both their accessibility and the more balanced level of nutritive values of herbs and woody species throughout the year (Sanon et al, 2007;Osoro et al, 2013).…”

Section: " "mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Goat feeding preferences are very different from those of sheep and cattle, if compared under the same farming conditions. Such differences mainly regard the number of browsed species and their intake (both higher for goats than sheep and cattle) (Papachristou et al, 2005;Sanon et al, 2007;Osoro et al, 2013). Silanikove et al (2010) reported that goats can utilize, more than other ruminants, feedstuffs rich in tannins or other plant secondary metabolites (PSM) thanks to their digestive efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of studies dealing with goat feeding preferences were performed indoors or compared indoor and grazing conditions (e.g., hay vs grazing, concentrate and hay vs grazing) (Morand-Fehr et al, 2007;Silanikove et al, 2010). Only in the last years some research has been conducted on goat feeding behaviour in shrublands of Mediterranean regions (Ataşoğlu et al, 2009;Delgado-Pertíñez et al, 2013;Mancilla-Leytón et al, 2013) and in rangelands of Africa (Sanon et al, 2007) or America (Foroughbakhch et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Browsing ratio, species intake, and milk fatty acid composition of goats foraging on alpine open grassland and grazable forestland

Iussig

Renna

Gorlier

et al. 2015

Small Ruminant Research

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Aims of this study were to investigate diet selection of dairy goats foraging on two alpine vegetation types and to assess the related effects on milk fatty acid (FA) composition. Two enclosures laid out on an open grassland (OG) and a grazable forestland (GF) were exploited by 14 Camosciata goats. A commercial concentrate was supplemented during milking. Forty-five plots were randomly selected inside each enclosure and used to assess the species relative abundance (SRA) and phenological stage of plants, as well as goats' preferences (browsing ratio, BR) and intake (SI) for each species.Representative samples of the diet in each enclosure were built up considering the most ingested plant species and plant parts. Feed samples were analyzed for proximate, FA, and phenolic compositions.Milk samples were collected in each enclosure and analyzed for their FA profile. The enclosures showed a similar level of vegetation diversity. If compared to the GF enclosure, the OG one had higher proportion of Poaceae (81.2 vs 44.8% of SRA) and lower proportion of non-legume dicotyledons (14.6 vs 50.7% of SRA). The goats mostly selected eutrophic species in OG and forbs and woody species leaves in GF. The ingested vegetation was almost completely represented by grasses in OG (89.6% of SI), and by similar proportions of grasses and herbs and woody species in GF (54.9 and 45.1% of SI, respectively). The ingested forages from the OG and GF showed a comparable proximate composition; if compared to OG, the GF vegetation type was however richer in α-linolenic acid (ALA) and phenolic compounds (PC). Fatty acid analysis showed that GF milk had higher concentrations of ALA, total omega-3 FA, total trans-octadecadienoic acids, total conjugated linoleic acids, total trans-octadecenoic acids, and a reduced omega-6/omega-3 FA ratio than OG milk.Branched-chain FA were not significantly affected by treatment, suggesting that the activity of ruminal bacteria in the goats was not inhibited by the higher concentration of PC in GF plants. The main reason for the observed improvement of the FA profile in GF milk seems to be attributable to the FA profile rather than the concentration and composition of PC of the ingested plants. The abundance of herbs and woody species in the ingested vegetation was positively associated with the presence of nutritionally desirable FA in goat milk fat.

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Section: " "mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Browsing ratio, species intake, and milk fatty acid composition of goats foraging on alpine open grassland and grazable forestland

Iussig

Renna

Gorlier

et al. 2015

Small Ruminant Research

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“…The bipedal posture is a characteristic behaviour that confers goats' advantages when under grazing conditions; they are also quite agile compared to sheep and cattle (Sanon et al, 2007). Ribeiro (1997) mentions that due to their eating habits and the way domestication was carried out, goats have a greater preference for high forage than cattle and sheep.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2013

reveto

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The ethogram description of confined goats is an alternative that helps identify animals' behaviour, their main behavior and the importance of developing production systems that provide better welfare conditions. This paper aims to describe the ethogram of three genetic groups of confined goats: Azul, Moxotó and Graúna, through monitoring video images, using 9 animals kept in individual pens, monitored by video cameras mounted on the roof of each pen. As for the design and description of ethogram, 810 hours of video image were recorded and analysed, these being from being nine hours a day periods; three in the morning, afternoon and night. We identified 34 visual behaviours, which were grouped into eight categories according to their functional character: food = 4), social interaction (n = 6), displacement (n = 2), resting (n = 3), grooming (n = 4), neutral position (n = 3), bipedal (n = 5) and other activities (n = 7). In conclusion, behaviors described in the ethogram were similar for all three genetic groups. Goats conduct their daily routine with sequences of behaviour that involve eating (food intake or selection) and resting or ruminating, with social interactions and other activities having happened more frequently in the afternoon and at that time in the afternoon before being provided with food.

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“…Although one usually considers mixed-species stocking to refer to two or more of the predominant domestic ruminant livestock species (Ralphs et al, 1986;Abaye et al, 1994;del Pozo et al, 1998;Animut et al, 2005a and2005b;Celaya et al, 2007;Sanon et al, 2007), wildlife if present should be considered as part of the mix (Grelen and Thomas, 1957;Milne et al, 1978;Bryant et al, 1979;Campbell and Johnson, 1983;Bastian et al, 1991;Gallina, 1993;Didier et al, 1994;Kreuter andWorkman, 1996 andVavra, 2005;Williams and Haynes, 2006;Anderson and McCuistion, 2008). Although not specifically addressed in this paper, the addition of wildlife to the species mix can create additional management challenges and economic opportunities from both ecotourism (Georgiadis et al, 2007) and sport hunting or game cropping (Denney, 1972;Demarais et al, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing livestock using animal behavior: mixed-species stocking and flerds

Anderson

Fredrickson

Estell

2012

Animal

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Mixed-species stocking can foster sound landscape management while offering economic and ecological advantages compared with mono-species stocking. Producers contemplating a mixed-species enterprise should reflect on several considerations before implementing this animal management strategy. Factors applicable to a particular producer's landscape must be considered together with goals and economic constraints before implementing mixed-species stocking. A major consideration when using mixed-species stocking is how to deal with predation losses, especially among small ruminants. An approach being adopted in some commercial operations capitalizes on using innate animal behaviors to form cohesive groups of two or more livestock species that consistently remain together under free-ranging conditions. These groups are referred to as flerds. The mixing of a flock of sheep and/or goats with a herd of cattle into a flerd has been shown to protect sheep and goats from coyote predation, as well as offering other husbandry advantages. Some of the added advantages include more efficient conversion of forage into animal protein. Creation of flerds, their maintenance and advantages are discussed.Keywords: livestock, bonding, predation, animal behavior ImplicationsThe simultaneous stocking of cattle, sheep and/or goats, especially on landscapes having a heterogeneous mixture of plant species, have positive ecological and economic advantages compared with mono-species stocking. However, predation of small ruminants, especially from canines, can inflict major economic losses, thus eliminating the benefits of mixed-species stocking. Modifying small ruminant behavior so that they consistently remain in the presence of cattle can reduce or eliminate death losses of small ruminants while providing other husbandry advantages. Bonding small ruminants to cattle to form flerds is an option worth considering in lieu of traditionally managed flocks and herds. The objective of this manuscript was to briefly review some of the background of mixed-species stocking with a focus on the benefits of using animal behavior to manage mixedspecies livestock groups, especially where fulltime herders are not used. IntroductionDifferent herbivore species have foraged together since herbivory began. Foraging is a spatial-temporal animal process composed of a series of sequential bites among forage plants (Laca, 2009). The sum of these bites impact the landscape either positively or negatively and also the health and well-being of the foraging animal. Among the most studied mixed-species natural ecosystems is the SerengetiMara Plain of Africa (Sinclair and Norton-Griffiths, 1979;McNaughton, 1985;Sinclair and Arcese, 1995;Sinclair et al., 2008). The concept of using mixed-species stocking dates from antiquity (Galaty and Johnson, 1990), frequently in a 'leader'-'follower' relationship that can reduce parasitism (Rocha et al., 2008) and may improve individual animal performance (Nolan and Connolly, 1976;Dickson et al., 1981;Odadi et al., 2011) and improve ...

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Behaviour of goats, sheep and cattle and their selection of browse species on natural pasture in a Sahelian area

Cited by 130 publications

References 10 publications

Browsing ratio, species intake, and milk fatty acid composition of goats foraging on alpine open grassland and grazable forestland

Browsing ratio, species intake, and milk fatty acid composition of goats foraging on alpine open grassland and grazable forestland

Untitled

Managing livestock using animal behavior: mixed-species stocking and flerds

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