Rearing goat kids away from their dams 2. Understanding farmers' views on changing management practices

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Agricultural Management
• Animal Welfare Science

Background:

• Improving animal welfare in livestock industries relies heavily on effective human management.
• Understanding farmer attitudes and perceived barriers is crucial for implementing welfare advancements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate goat farmers' attitudes towards changing kid-rearing practices, including enrichment provision and weaning methods.
• To identify key factors influencing farmers' decisions to adopt new management strategies.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 242 goat farmers across multiple countries (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, EU).
• Likert scales assessed willingness to adopt enrichments and importance of decision-making factors, complemented by open-text responses.
• Statistical analyses, including chi-squared tests, were used to evaluate differences in willingness and factor importance.

Main Results:

• Farmers showed varying willingness to provide enrichments, with climbing/loose items preferred over swinging items (P < 0.001).
• Safety was the primary barrier to enrichment adoption (76.5%), while feasibility and health concerns impacted willingness to change weaning methods.
• Evidence of benefits to welfare, health, and growth, alongside labor/time and cost, were highly important factors in decision-making (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Farmer willingness to adopt goat kid-rearing innovations is influenced by perceived safety, feasibility, and health concerns.
• Future research and interventions should prioritize addressing these farmer-identified barriers and highlighting evidence-based benefits to welfare, health, and growth.