Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, 06100, Perugia, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milano, 26900, Lodi, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 7;12(1):15152. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-18070-6.
Agroforestry systems, which are based on the integration of trees and animals, represent a useful practice for implementing the "One Welfare" concept. Geese could adapt well to these systems due to their kinetic and grazing abilities. However, the lack of specific ethograms and animal-based measures have not yet allowed a deep assessment of their welfare and behavior. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a protocol to evaluate the behavior of geese reared in two agroforestry systems (i.e., apple orchard and vineyard). Thus, a behavior observation form (BOF) including a specific ethogram was proposed, and its interobserver reliability, content, criterion and construct validity were determined. Moreover, the influence of the time of day and type of agroforestry system on geese's behavior was also investigated. Agreement and principal component analyses, as well as the comparison between data collected through direct observation by the BOF and indirect observation by a computerized system, supported the reliability and validity of the proposed protocol. While the BOF also highlighted differences in the behavior expressed by the geese according to the time of day and the environmental context, both the vineyard and apple orchard systems seem to meet their biological and behavioral needs.
农林复合系统是将树木和动物整合在一起的一种实用方法，可用于实施“一种福利”理念。鹅由于其运动和放牧能力，能很好地适应这些系统。但是，由于缺乏特定的行为谱和基于动物的措施，还不能对其福利和行为进行深入评估。本研究旨在制定和验证一种方案，以评估在两种农林复合系统（即苹果园和葡萄园）中饲养的鹅的行为。因此，提出了一种包括特定行为谱的行为观察表（BOF），并确定了其观察者间的可靠性、内容、标准和结构有效性。此外，还研究了一天中的时间和农林复合系统类型对鹅行为的影响。一致性和主成分分析，以及通过 BOF 进行直接观察和通过计算机系统进行间接观察所收集的数据之间的比较，支持了所提出方案的可靠性和有效性。BOF 还根据一天中的时间和环境背景，突出了鹅表现出的行为差异，而葡萄园和苹果园系统似乎都满足了它们的生物和行为需求。
