To better understand goat behaviour and to improve their welfare we investigated the behaviour of Slovenian Alpine goat breed in the stable and on the pasture. Goats were housed following ecological (ECO) or conventional (KON) farming systems. Generally speaking, ecological farming system fulfils the ethological needs of an animal better while conventional system is more focused on the production of an animal. The experiment was carried out at the Educational Research Centre for Animal Husbandry Logatec and lasted for 20 days between June and September, 5 days a month. It involved 57 two year-old goats, 27 from EKO system and 30 from KON system. We recorded the behaviour at the milking parlour and in the stable, outdoor run or on the pasture, using direct observations or by means of GPS receivers. The pasture was divided into sections A (wather supply), B (brush), C (EKO system-pedestal) and D (EKO system-branches). EKO goats had certain elements in the sections for the purpose to satisfy their ethological needs (elevated platform in the stable, dead tree in outdoor run, elevated platform and branches on the pasture). Goats expressed a specific daily rhythm; in the morning they rested in the outdoor run while in the afternoon they were grazing. The longest distance travelled and the longest retention on pasture was recorded in June, in the month with the best weather conditions and the most varied botanical grass composition. We also found that the method of milking affected milking time and at the same time pozitive correlation on daily amount of milk and that the superior goats with a higher amount of milk came to the milking place by their free will first. The following main differences in behaviour we found between goats: EKO goats were more often observed in the stable (P = 0,0007), most likely due to the possibility of using the elevated platform, and more on the pasture; section A (P = 0,0920), B (P = 0,0121), C (P = 0,1602) and D (P < 0,0001), where they moved slowlier (ECO 3,7 ± 0,5 km/h, KON 3,9 ± 0,6 km/h, P = 0,01) as KON goats and performed more object care (P < 0,0001). The results indicate that organic farming positively influenced a greater variety of goat behaviours, including comfort behaviour, and a longer stay in the stable as well as on the pasture compared to conventional farming.
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