Can we monitor adaptation of juvenile goats to a new social environment through continuous qualitative behaviour assessment?

Comparison of Antioxidant Capacity and Muscle Amino Acid and Fatty Acid Composition of Nervous and Calm Hu Sheep

This study determined the effect of temperament on antioxidant capacity and the relationship between antioxidant capacity and the contents of amino acids (AA) and fatty acids (FA) in muscle of Hu sheep. Organ and muscle samples of five calm and five nervous Hu sheep were collected to determine the antioxidant capacity and the contents of AA and FA in muscle tissue. The concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide excretion enzyme (SOD) in muscle and intestinal tissue of calm Hu sheep were lower than those of nervous Hu sheep (p < 0.01), and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver of calm Hu sheep was significantly higher than that of nervous Hu sheep (p = 0.050). The content of AA of calm Hu sheep was higher than that of nervous Hu sheep, especially the content of reductive amino acids, which was significantly higher than that of nervous Hu sheep (p = 0.029). Fatty acid content of nervous Hu sheep was higher than that of calm type, and saturated fatty acid content was significantly higher than that of calm type (p = 0.001). The SOD content in muscle tissue was positively correlated with the contents of aspartic acid (Asp), alanine (Ala) and lysine (Lys). Catalase (CAT) activity was positively correlated with Ala content. There was a significant positive correlation between total antioxidants (T-AOC) and glutamate (Glu) (p < 0.05). MDA concentration was positively correlated with lauric acid (C12:0), triseconic acid (C13:0), myristic acid (C14:0) content (p < 0.01), and ginkgo acid (C15:0) content. The total antioxidants (T-AOC) was negatively correlated with stearic acid (C18:0) (p < 0.05). Our conclusion is that the antioxidant capacity of calm Hu sheep is superior to that of nervous Hu sheep, which may be due to the higher AA (especially reductive amino acids (Arg, Lys, Ala and Glu)) content in the muscle and the lower FA (especially SFA) content, which improve the antioxidant capacity of the organism and allow for further exploration of the mechanisms by which animal temperament affects antioxidant performance.

The effect of being housed with a goat on abnormal behavior in horses

Horses in stalls generally remain in single-stall housing, so abnormal behavior can be observed in this management condition. Abnormal behavior can harm the horse's keeper, rider, or even the animal itself. The present study aims to examine the effect of goats on abnormal behaviors in horses. For this purpose, it placed six horses and six goats in the single-stall housing of the horses, one horse and one goat, and monitored them for 45 d. The research was divided into three observation phases during this time: in the first observation, the horses were left alone (0-15 d), in the second observation, the horses were left together with the goats (16-30 d), and in the third observation, the horses were left alone again (31-45 d). In the first of these three stages, 12 different abnormal behaviors were detected in horses. The determined hours (00:00-01:00, 06:00-07:00, 07:00-08:00, 19:00-20:00, 20:00-21:00, 23:00-24:00 LT) of the day for abnormal behaviors identified in six different single-stall houses were examined. The frequency of the total abnormal behavior occurring at these hours was evaluated with nonparametric statistical tests. At the end of the research, front feet playing ( p = 0.002 ), crib-biting objects ( p < 0.001 ), and box walking ( p < 0.001 ) behaviors were significantly affected positively by the goats, while there was no statistical difference in other abnormal behaviors ( p > 0.05 ). In conclusion, it can be said that goats positively affect some abnormal behaviors in horses but not others.