Feeding Behaviors Of Sheep And Goats

Sheep and goat display selective eating behavior due to their narrower, longer muzzles, and their movable and cleft lips. Goats are more selective than sheep. Both animals use especially taste and, vision, smell and touch senses. The daily grazing time is approximately 7-8 h in sheep and 10-11 h in goats. Grazing intensifies in the early morning and late afternoon. Sheep choose to graze on pasture while goats refer to eat leaves, browses and vines of the trees in bushes and forests. Their rumination time is nearly equal to the grazing time even though it depends closely on the content of the feed. They consume water approximately 2- 3 fold of the dry matter they eat, and refer to drink from daily water reservoir. The following situations affect feed and water consumption; availability of feed and water, palatability and composition, daily and seasonal changes, environmental temperature, humidity and topography, social statue, and physiological condition of the animal. Normal feeding behavior of any given animal is to be well known for a successful animal feeding.