Agonistic behaviour of dairy goats and sheep during feeding - A pilot study on Swiss farms with mixed rations

Feeding mixed rations is a widely used practice for cattle to ensure the intake of a balanced diet and to reduce competition for food. It is unknown, whether mixed rations have the same advantages for small ruminants because they differ from cattle in their feeding and social behaviour. In this observational pilot study, an array of feeding and social behaviour of dairy goats and sheep fed ad libitum with mixed rations on Swiss farms was investigated. Twelve dairy goat and 12 dairy sheep farms feeding mixed rations were visited once during the winter feeding period. Data on the feeding management, feeding place design and the composition of the mixed rations were collected. The number of animals feeding simultaneously and the number and type of agonistic interactions during feeding were assessed by direct observations for 6 hours after the morning feed-distribution. The feeding management and the composition of the mixed rations were very heterogeneous among farms. The feed rations were mostly well balanced in relation to energy and protein and covered the requirements for the daily production of about 2,5 kg of milk. In terms of feeding simultaneously, sheep were more synchronous than goats. The mean number of agonistic interactions per feeding place within 6 hours were 3,8 in goats and 1,8 in sheep; thus, the probability to observe agonistic behaviour is higher in goats than in sheep. Goats and sheep also differed in the frequency of types of agonistic interactions. Overall, the occurrence of agonistic interactions between animals during feeding decreased with higher numbers of feeding places per animal and longer periods of time since the feed distribution. To conclude, when feeding mixed rations, agonistic interactions related to feeding are more frequent in goats but also occur in sheep to a considerable extent. They can be decreased by offering more feeding places.