Abstract:
Small ruminant systems, espedally with intensification in the tropics, are increasingly involving indoor
stall-feeding. To facilitate manger design, there is a needfor iriformation on the ability of the animal to
reachfor food, suchas that availablefor cattle fed through barriers. Thirty eight goats (20 Galla, mean
weight 28.2 kg; 18 Small East African; mean weight 24. 6 kg) and 26 sheep (16 Blackhead Persian, mean
weight 24.0 kg, 10 Red Maasai; mean weight 20.4 kg), were trained to reach for concentrate meal
placed on a horizontal platform through a vertical tombstone barrier. The barrier allowed the neck to
pass through, but not the shoulders. 1t was hypothesized that goats would have larger reach than sheep
and thatforeach species, horizontal reachforwards, F, (distancefrom mid-point of barrier to uneaten
meal) and sideways,S, (distances sidewaysjrom mid-point of barrier to uneaten meal adjacent to barrier)
would be ajunction of height of platform above the floor (0, 15, 30 and 45 cm) and body size (weight
and linear measurements, e.g. body length). Goats had significantly larger F and S values than sheep.
Mean values for Fat platform heights 0, 15, 30 and 45 cm were 37.9,41.8, 44.7 and 39.4 em respe;ctively
for sheep and 45:4, 46.6, 47.2 and 43.0 cm respectively for goats. Values for S were smaller, but
followed a similar pattern. Linear correlation coefficients between For S and dimensions in sheep were
all low (0-0.5), but in goats, especially for F, correlations were generally high (0.4-0.8). Exceptfor the
low correlation between reach and size in sheep, the results supported the hypotheses. The data will facilitate
manger design for small'ruminants of similar breeds, having dimensions in the range of those
used in the study.
