Self-suckling activity in goats: a behavioral approach

Abstract

Self-suckling is a poor studied behavior in goats. With the exception of few studies including a case report of it occurrence in a feral goat, the description and consequences of this behavior remain unclear. The aim of this study was to measure the frequency of self-suckling in dairy goats and their effects on udder morphology and milk production. To do that, the self-suckling behavior of 21 Majorera breed dairy goats was recorded daily during 20 minutes at 3 different times, immediately after milking (10:30), immediately after the fed (13:00) and at mid-afternoon (17:00). A total of 27 periods were considered in this study. In addition, goats were milked and the milk production of each mammary gland was measured by using recording jars (4L5%). Moreover, the length and width of each goat´s teat were measured using a digital calliper. For the total of goats included in this study, 15 (76%) were observed developing this behavior while self-suckling was not observed in 6 goats (24%). Goats suckled significantly more frequently from their right gland than their left gland probably due to the position of the rumen. Furthermore, the goats suckled their own glands more frequently immediately after milking than during the other periods considered in the study. In addition, significant associations between the morphology of the teat and the frequency of self-suckling were found. Those goats developing self-suckling during more periods had wider teats. Finally, the frequency of self-suckling behaviour of the left gland was significant and negatively associated with the production of milk of this gland. This relationship did not reach significance for the case of the right gland. To our knowledge, this is a first approach to the study of self-suckling behavior in dairy goats which may affect the immune milk status and technological parameters of milk.