The amount of time spent eating and the rate of mastication both tend to increase as the temperature goes down. There is a correlation between lower temperatures and reduced water intake, and restriction in the amount of water consumed will cause reduction in dry matter consumption. The digestibility of dry matter may actually be increased especially the digestibility of the crude fiber portion of feeds. 7 Goats are known to be able to distinguish be tween bitter, salt, sweet and sour tastes. The fact that they have a higher tolerance for bitter tasting feeds than most other ruminants can be attributed to the browsing propensity for bark, leaves, shoots, shrubs and branches which may have a more bitter taste than grasses, forbs and general pasture.
Goats also have a well developed ability to discriminate sweets.
8 Goats tend to spend more time eating each day than other ruminants, often eating for as long as 11 hours. This may be misleading though, for they spend more time and distance moving from one plant to another than sheep or cattle. The length and regularity of rumination is inversely related to the alert state of the goat, with long regular periods of rumination occurring during a semi-somnolent state. If subjected to random noises, rumination may become irregular. Fully aroused goats will generally not ruminate.