Effects of social hierarchy in primiparous and multiparous goats on nursing behavior during lactation

Andrea GarcíaPaolo CanoAngelica Terrazas^*

• Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Facultad de Estudios Superiores Cuautitlan, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico

Introduc5on: Goats are gregarious animals with a social organizaIon differenIated by their straIficaIon into defined social ranks. RelaIvely li]le is known about whether these social relaIonships affect the behavioral acIvity of mothers and offspring during lactaIon. Therefore, the objecIve of this study was to evaluate the effect of social hierarchy in primiparous and mulIparous goats on nursing behavior during lactaIon. Methods: Forty-seven mulIparous and 25 primiparous French Alpine and Toggenburg goats were used. They were weighed, their body condiIon was evaluated during the second half of pregnancy and lactaIon, and the weights of their kids were measured during two months of age. To evaluate the hierarchy, a success index was calculated by recording the antagonisIc interacIons between animals in the second and last weeks of lactaIon. Furthermore nursing acIviIes were recorded approximately 14 days postpartum and weekly unIl day 55 of lactaIon. The following behaviors were recorded: frequency of nursing episodes, episodes in which the mother accepted or rejected, and the duraIon of each nursing episode. Results: Both primiparous and mulIparous goats had the highest percentage at the medium dominance level (65%). This was significantly higher than those at the low dominance level (20%) and the high dominance level (15%, P < 0.001). Body weight and body condiIon scores were higher in goats with a high dominance than in those with a medium or low social hierarchy (P < 0.05). The body weights of the kids were not affected by the dominance of their mothers (P > 0.05). There were no differences among the three dominance levels in the duraIon of episodes, episodes accepted or rejected, or the number of total nursing episodes observed during lactaIon (P > 0.5). Conclusion: Regardless of parity, the maternal hierarchy level significantly affected producIve parameters in goats, but not offspring growth or nursing behavior during lactaIon.