In Slovenia, the number of ecological farms and the interest for organic products have increased. Ecological farming strives for a nature-friendly system and emphasizes the welfare of animals. Following this, we carried out a study with wich we observed the use of an elevated platform in organic farming for goats of the Alpine breed. Goats are animals that lie, stand and move on an elevated platform, because that is where they feel good, this is their natural behaviour. Our herd of horned and dehorned goats had a wooden elevated platform in the middle of a box, measuring 0.6 m x 1.5 m and was elevated 0.5 m from the floor. Goats also had a free access to the pasture. We observed the animals for 10 days using a video footage, of 12-hour intervals. The results showed that our goats used the elevated platform every day, confirming that platforms contribute to a better goat welfare and promote natural behaviour. Animals used the elevated area in 96% for lying, most often in the early morning and very little in the early evening. Horned goats mostly spent their time on the platform, whereas dehorned goats preferred to be underneath it. Horned goats are generally more dominant since they have better access to the best resources. We believe that the elevated platform is a good and useful element in goat housing, which is also affordable and enables the expression of a goat specific behaviour and has a beneficial effect on the state of animal health.
|