| Title: |
Seasonal access to pasture and dairy goat welfare: effects on emotional reactivity, social organisation and cognitive flexibility ; Accès saisonnier au pâturage et bien-être de la chèvre laitière : effets sur la réactivité émotionnelle, l’organisation sociale et la flexibilité cognitive |
| Authors: |
Delvaux, Flavien |
| Contributors: |
Fourrages, ruminants et environnement (FERLUS); Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE); Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR); AgroParisTech-Université Paris-Saclay-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE); Sorbonne Paris Nord; Hugues Caillat; Masoomeh Taghipoor; Mathilde Valenchon; ANR-22-PEAE-0008,WAIT4,Welfare: Artificial Intelligence and Technologies for Tracking key indicator Traits in animals facing the challenges of agro-ecological Transition(2022) |
| Source: |
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05521369 ; Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]. 2025. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Subject Terms: |
Sociability; Cognition; Dairy Goat; Novelty responsiveness; Domesticated species; Farming; Réactivité à la nouveauté; Elevage; Sociabilité; Espèce domestique; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [SCCO]Cognitive science |
| Description: |
Master ; Our study investigated how seasonal access to pasture influences the welfare of dairy goats, by comparing a permanent indoor housing system with one allowing daily outdoor access. To this end, two groups of 25 goats from two herds that had been managed separately for 10 years were studied: one group housed exclusively indoors (DB) and the other with regular access to pasture (DP). We assessed the effects of the housing system on three major behavioural domains: emotional (responsiveness to novelty), social (sociability and social interactions), and cognitive (learning and flexibility). Prior to the start of pasture access, 25 goats from each group were subjected to a battery of standardised behavioural tests. The results showed that DP goats exhibited lower emotional reactivity compared to DB goats. When confronted with a novel environment or object, they explored for longer periods, vocalised and defecated less, and displayed fewer fear-related glances. Moreover, during a social encounter test, DP goats initiated significantly more affiliative interactions with an unfamiliar conspecific, suggesting increased sociability. In contrast, responses to human approach were similar across both groups, indicating equivalent levels of docility. Cognitive performance also differed: DP goats learned a simple task more quickly and performed better in a reversal learning task, reflecting enhanced cognitive flexibility. Additionally, observations of behaviour before and after the onset of pasture access revealed short-term effects, including changes in activity budgets (notably increased active grazing and decreased rumination) and greater average interindividual distances. In conclusion, pasture access appears to promote the overall welfare of dairy goats by positively modulating their emotional, social, and cognitive responses, without compromising their relationship with humans. ; Notre étude a examiné comment l’accès saisonnier au pâturage influence le bien-être de chèvres laitières, en comparant un système en ... |
| Document Type: |
master thesis |
| Language: |
French |
| Availability: |
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05521369; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05521369v1/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05521369v1/file/2025_Delvaux_comportement_chevres_batimentvspaturage.pdf |
| Rights: |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.B65B8D6B |
| Database: |
BASE |