The impact of environmental enrichment on behavior, welfare, saliva cortisol levels and milk production in Saanen goats

This study aimed to determine the impact of environmental enrichment on the level of saliva cortisol, behavior, welfare, milk composition and production of dairy Saanen goats. Thirty-two Saanen dairy goats aged 3 to 5 years were included. The goats were randomly divided into two groups: the first CON control group (n=16) and the second EEN group (n=16). In the open area, the goats had equal conditions, access to hay, concentrate for dairy goats and water ad libitum. Milking was performed twice a day, early in the morning and the evening at the milking parlour. Two weeks after weaning, the goats were acclimatized for the next 14 days (zero-14 days). The environment was enriched on the 15th day when body temperature and heart rate values were determined, samples were collected (milk and saliva), and tests were performed (chin and latency tests), as well as on the 45th, 75th, 105th, and 135th days of the study (from April to August 2017). The goats in the enriched environment were more physically active, had fewer leg injuries, were more distrustful, more timid and less accepting of an unknown observer, but in their mutual relationship, they did not behave competitively or more aggressively than the goats in the environment with poor stimuli did. After environmental enrichment, there was no significant change in salivary cortisol levels among the goat groups. According to the results of this research, it is clear that the profitability of a significant investment in items for enriching the environment with dairy goats is questionable. The enrichment of the environment had a slight positive effect on their well-being; it did not affect the increase in productivity or quality of milk, and it called into question the health of the udders in the context of injuries and purulent inflammation and affected the attitudes of goats toward humans.