Volume: 5, 2026
5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: H004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.H004
Published online: 22 April 2026
The effect of age, sex and acceptance of touch on goats’ responses to social support from humans
Weronika Bogusz*, Patrycja Jóźwiak, Wiktoria Janicka and Kamila Janicka
Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 13 Akademicka St., 20-950 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author: weronika.bogusz@up.edu.pl
Animals are exposed to a wide range of stressful situations throughout their lives, including isolation for husbandry practices, transport, veterinary procedures, or convalescence. For social species, such as goats, isolation from the group is of particular importance. Different studies show that the mere presence of a conspecific may mitigate individual stress levels. This phenomenon is known as social support, or social buffering. There is also some evidence of interspecific social support, including support provided by humans to animals such as companion and farm animals. However, the social buffering effect may depend on various factors. The aim of the study was to assess the responses of goats of different ages, sexes, and levels of acceptance of human touch under different social isolation conditions, with or without human presence.
Sixteen goats of two age groups: younger (5-6 months; n=11), older (1-4 years; n=5) and of two sexes: males (n=10) and females (n=6) were subjected to two behavioural tests. All the tested individuals were socialised with humans, however, they varied in their motivation to interact with humans. Hence, the first test consisted of checking the goats’ willingness to be stroked by humans in a neutral situation (no isolation, free movement on pasture). Each of four women known to the animals conducted three 5-minutes touch acceptance tests, during which they stroked each individual until it walked away, or the designated time was exceeded. The time of stroking [s] was measured. Then, the main test began in which the goats were subjected to four variants of 5-minutes isolation tests, varying in the degree of social isolation: 1) complete isolation, and isolation in the presence of 2) an unfamiliar or 3) a familiar human, or 4) another goat. The time [s] of locomotion and standing, as well as the frequency [the number of events] of vocalisations and escape attempts were measured. The data were analysed using BORIS software and the statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 13.0.
Male goats vocalised more than female goats when completely isolated, whereas younger goats vocalised more than older individuals in all isolation variants, excluding the presence of another goat. Within the same group, males showed clear decrease in signs of behavioural reactivity when provided with conspecific and heterospecific support. Similar effect was observed for younger individuals. Strong negative correlations were observed between tolerance of tactile contact with a human, as assessed in the touch test and vocalisation frequency during isolation in the presence of humans. Social support appears to be less effective in females, suggesting that they may be more sensitive to isolation than males. In terms of age, both conspecific and human presence tends to have a stronger calming effect on younger individuals, possibly because they have a greater need to stay close to the group. A readiness to engage with humans in neutral situations may partly indicate how effective humans are as social buffers.
Keywords: goats; human-animal interaction; social isolation; social support
How to cite
Bogusz W., Jóźwiak P., Janicka W., Janicka K., 2026. The effect of age, sex and acceptance of touch on goats’ responses to social support from humans. In: 5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.H004