Early Handling Effects on Measures of Tameness in Boer-Cross Kids ANS 106 Winter 2005

Purpose to determine whether early human handling could increase tameness of dam-reared Boer-cross goat kids. to determine whether sex has an influence on their response to human interaction.

Background Relatively new breed of meat goat (introduced in 1996). Dam-raised. Extensively managed with minimum human contact.

Minimal human contact leads to… Fear of humans. High stress levels during management procedures. Difficulty handling. Injuries. Aggressive behavior. $$ Loss!

How can we decrease production losses? Increased tameness increases ease of handling. Tameness may be increased by early handling.

Methods & Materials

Subjects 19 dam-raised goat kids from 8 Boer-cross dams. Housed at UCD Goat Barn in 6 x 8ft jugging pens after birth. Early handling goup: 5males and 5 females. Control group: 5 males and 4 females. Identified by temporary white neck collars (kid #, dam # and sex.

Materials 4 – 3 x 2m plywood boards Sidewalk chalk Grease chalk Stopwatch Digital timer

Handling Procedures Handled 15 min, twice daily – 10 total treatments. Performed by 3 handlers. Handled in lap and on stool 3 ft outside jugging pen. Handling included: talking to, petting and scratching. Occurred within 24hrs after birth. Kid remained within visual and auditory range of dam.

Testing Arena Kids and dams moved to UCD Cole Facility 2+ days prior to testing. 3 x 5 m test enclosure divided into 5 Areas.

Tests & Procedures 3 Tests Performed 2 wk individual 3 wk individual 3 wk family group (dam tied in Area 5) Seated human test (tester sat immobile & silent in Area 1). Kids habituated (2 min) and introduced in Area 5. Activity observed for 5 min.

Procedures (con’t) Observations made 9 m above test area.

Measurements of Tameness Individual kid tests at 2 and 3 wks of age. Latency to human contact # of contacts Time spent in proximity to human Duration of contacts Family group test at 3 wks of age. Latency to human contact. # of contacts

Results Experimental vs. Control at 2 and 3 wk No significant difference Within family group at 3 wks

Gender differences Experimental males vs Experimental females No significant difference Control males vs. Control females At 2 wks: greater # and duration of contacts in males At 3 wks: shorter latency in males Males vs. Females overall At 2 wks: greater duration of contacts in males

Results Significant Results Means and standard deviations of measurements of tameness in control males and females at 2 and 3 wks of age Means and standard deviations of measurements of tameness in males and females overall at 2 and 3 wks of age

Discussion Early handling has no effect on tameness when tested at 2 or 3 weeks of age

Reasons Hand-reared vs. Dam-reared Other studies subjects were hand-reared

Other Factors? Novel Environment and Isolation from Pen-mates Testing as a family group still showed no difference Did decrease vocalizations during test in all kids

Gender Differences Males exhibited more tameness throughout the study Males within the control group Males overall Supported by Bouissou and Vandenheede (1996) Testosterone found to decrease fear response

Conclusion Positive handling sessions alone, when the kids are dam-reared and housed in large social groups, are not enough to increase tameness. Further studies are needed to determine if assisting dam-reared kids at nursing would be sufficient to increase tameness.

The End