Comparative investigation of some behavior traits of Honamli, Hair, and Saanen goats in a Mediterranean maquis area

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate comparatively some behavior traits (grazing, resting, bipedal stance, agonistic behavior, rumination, and browsing) of Honamli, Hair, and Saanen goat breeds in the morning and afternoon periods between April and September in maquis shrublands. A total of 30 two-year-old goats including 10 from each goat breed were used. While grazing behavior of Saanen goats was observed mostly in April and May as 75.45%-71.65% and 73.16%-78.25% for morning and afternoon in these months, respectively, these values were respectively 62.52%-64.23% and 59.94%-67.67% for Hair goats and 60.12%-62.94% and 46.42%-54.78% for Honamli goats. It was observed that Hair goats exhibited more browsing and bipedal stance and Honamli goats rested more and had more agonistic behaviors compared to the other breeds. Higher values were determined for rumination and standing behaviors in Saanen goats compared to the others (P < 0.05). This study has revealed that it is needed to examine factors in more detail such as grazing time, season, and condition of herbaceous plants on the basis of their effects on the interest of goats towards bushes and saplings.