Providing outdoor space for indoor-housed dairy goats: an investigation into the preference of milking goats for outdoor space, and factors affecting this choice

Opportunities for naturalness are key for good animal welfare. High-yielding dairy goats are often farmed indoors year-round; thus, the inclusion of outdoor space into such systems provides a unique opportunity for commercial goats to perform rewarding natural behaviours. This research was completed in two parts. First, a pilot study of milking goats in a natural environment was used to inform the design of items that could be included in the outdoor space provided in a commercial setting. Second, indoor-housed commercial dairy goats were provided with outdoor spaces, one which included these additional items designed to promote natural behaviour, and one which was empty. The preference of eight groups of 36 goats for these spaces was then assessed. Goats consistently used the outdoor space during the daytime, with 21 to 26% of the groups of goats being outside on average. Goats’ night-time behaviour was variable, and depended on the time within the summer season, ranging from 6 to 42% of goats outside. This variation was not explained by changes in rainfall, temperature or humidity, and future research is required to better understand the diurnal and seasonal variation in goats’ preferences. Goats did not show an overall preference for the enriched outdoor space compared to the empty space, however, they did prefer the former space during the daytime, with 33% more goats observed outside from dawn to dusk compared with night-time (28 vs 21 ± 1.3%; mean ± SEM). Consumer concern around permanent indoor housing of farm animals is high, and there is evidence consumers value outside access for the animals from which their products are sourced. Outdoor spaces on commercial farms provide a unique opportunity for maintaining the industry’s social license to operate. In addition to the positive social impact of this practice, being able to go outside may positively impact goat welfare, especially when spaces are designed to be biologically relevant, and provide opportunities for natural behaviours and positive experiences.