Abstract The social behaviour of farm animals is capable of influencing their welfare and production results (e.g. milk yield), and thus is very important, both for animals and farmers. The aim of the present study was to investigate dominance hierarchy, milking order, and neighbour preference in domestic goats. Animals were kept under semi-extensive management. In total, 72 milked goats (Saanen goat × German Improved Fawn) were observed for 150 h. A number of agonistic and affiliative behaviours were observed. Larger animals (in terms of height) and animals with longer horns were more aggressive, but also initiated and received more affiliative behaviours. Age and horn length were the most important factors influencing social position; older animals with long horns were high in the dominance hierarchy. Milking order was not significantly correlated with social position. We found that some goats preferred certain neighbours during rest periods (the goats would lie down together), choosing animals characterised by similar age, aggression level, and social position. Additionally, we found that the occurrence of some behaviours varied depending on location, e.g. goats exhibited affiliative behaviour mainly in the goat house.

中文翻译：

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家山羊的优势等级、挤奶顺序和邻居偏好

摘要 农场动物的社会行为能够影响它们的福利和生产结果（如产奶量），因此对动物和农民都非常重要。本研究的目的是调查家山羊的优势等级、挤奶顺序和邻居偏好。动物保持在半粗放管理下。总共观察了 72 只挤奶山羊（萨能山羊 × 德国改良小鹿）150 小时。观察到许多激动和从属行为。较大的动物（就高度而言）和具有较长角的动物更具攻击性，但也会发起并接受更多的从属行为。年龄和角长是影响社会地位的最重要因素；长角的老年动物在支配等级中处于较高地位。挤奶顺序与社会地位没有显着相关性。我们发现一些山羊在休息期间更喜欢某些邻居（山羊会一起躺下），选择具有相似年龄、攻击性水平和社会地位的动物。此外，我们发现一些行为的发生因地点而异，例如山羊主要在山羊屋中表现出从属行为。