Abstract :
A detailed knowledge of chewing behaviour is important in understanding the factors
that can affect digestive function in high producing ruminants. The aim of this study
was to compare chewing behaviour either measured with a portable automatic system
(APEC) which records jaw movements or obtained by scan sampling video analysis in
12 individually housed dairy goats. One hour and daily time-intervals were used for the
analysis. APEC and video showed better agreement for 1 h than for daily time-intervals
but a very high individual variability was observed for all the parameters measured.
Daily duration of rumination seemed to be assessed better by the APEC than by the video
because it is sometimes difficult to determine if the goats are resting or ruminating on
the video. Daily duration of intake was however assessed better by the video because the
automatic recorder interpreted all oral behaviours as intake. However, total chewing time
is directly related to the amount of saliva produced which an important factor in ruminant
nutrition. The APEC allows continuous recording of activity independently of the animal’s
position in the pen or in a group or at pasture where animals cannot be filmed, however
the device can be easily damaged by the animals. Video cannot be damaged by the animals
but it can be difficult to determine the animal’s activity if the animal is lying-down or
not facing the camera, or in a dark part of its pen. Both systems were relevant to measure
chewing behaviour of stall housed dairy goats, and to study the daily time-budget of
feeding behaviour but results have to be interpreted carefully.
