Hens are motivated to dustbathe in peat irrespective of being reared with or without a suitable dustbathing substrate
Birds usually dustbathe in litter, but in the absence of this they sham dustbathe. The question addressed in this study was whether laying hens, Gallus gallus domesticus reared without litter and used to performing sham dustbathing consider this to be [`]real’ dustbathing and are satisfied with this or, if given the opportunity, would choose to […]
The performance of nest building by domestic hens: is it more important than the construction of a nest?
Domestic hens were presented with three different types of littered nest: a flat litter surface (A), a preformed hollowed nest (B) and a preformed nest with an egg (C). Nests B and C had been previously constructed by the hen under test. The overall duration of pre-laying behaviour was greater in nest type C than […]
Use of visual cover by domestic fowl: a Venetian blind effect?
Cover is a structural feature of the environment that animals can use to conceal themselves from predators or conspecifics or to gain shelter from inclement weather. Cover may also form a physical barrier limiting movement. It was hypothesized that domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, would use visual cover for concealment. Use of cover was examined […]
The practical problems of recognizing and measuring fear and exploration behaviour in the domestic fowl
In studying behaviour supposedly motivated by fear or by exploration, consideration should be given to the biological functions of these two systems and to the ways in which the experimental environment may affect the performance of `natural’ responses. Extreme caution is needed in comparing the effectiveness of different stimuli and the amounts of fear or […]