Environmental enrichment and social rank affects the fear and stress response to regular handling of dairy goats

Human–animal interactions can have result in fear and stress for the animals and can affect negatively their welfare and productivity. Environmental enrichment techniques can be a tool to reduce this fear response to handlers. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of environmental enrichment and social rank on fear and stress response to handling of dairy goats. Thirty Saanen dairy goats (3.5-5 years of age) were observed 6 hours daily for 16 consecutive days. Behavior sampling was used to record all events of agonistic interactions, and index of success was calculated for each goat. Two groups, control (CO) and enriched (EN), of 12 goats each (6 high rank [HR] and 6 low rank [LR]), were then observed during a 4-phase handling test. Reactivity behaviors were recorded using focal sampling, and plasma cortisol was assessed in all goats. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the effect of treatment (EN and CO) and social rank (HR and LR) on behavior, and a multivariate ANOVA for repeated measures was used to assess the effect of treatment and social rank on cortisol levels in response to handling. The EN group and HR goats had a longer distance to the handler (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively); however, it took longer for the goats in the CO group to be caught (P < 0.01). LR goats in the EN group showed higher levels of aggression to the handler than HR goats in the EN and CO groups as well as LR goats in the CO group (P < 0.01). On average, EN goats had higher cortisol values than in the CO (P < 0.05), and the HR goats had significantly higher cortisol values than the LR animals (P < 0.05). In general, goats in the EN group had a more excited reaction than the CO group that could be related to a cognitive state derived from the effect of the enrichment. These results have important implications for animal husbandry and help to broaden the literature on the effects of environmental enrichment and dominance rank on goat handling.