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Effects of handling dairy goat replacements in early life on behaviour when first entering the milking parlour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

K.M. Dedman
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, P.O. Box 236, Reading RG6 6AT, Berkshire, United Kingdom
M.J. Bryant
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, P.O. Box 236, Reading RG6 6AT, Berkshire, United Kingdom
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Extract

The handling of animals by their keepers, particularly in early life, has been shown to influence the subsequent behaviour and performance of various domestic farm species (Lyons, Price and Moberg, 1988; Hemsworth and Barnett, 1992). When production systems require animals to be handled frequently and in situations where their collaboration is essential, such as dairying, then the animals' placidity and tractability becomes essential. The aim of the experiment was to establish if handling goat kids for a few weeks after birth would influence behaviour when they were subsequently milked.

Type
Sheep
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1996

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References

Hemsworth, P.H. and Barnett, J.L. (1992). The effect of early contact with humans on the subsequent level of fear of humans in pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 35: 8390.10.1016/0168-1591(92)90018-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, D.M., Price, E.O. and Moberg, G.P. (1988). Individual differences in temperament of domestic dairy goats: constancy and change. Animal Behaviour 36: 13231333.10.1016/S0003-3472(88)80201-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar