Discrimination between conspecific odour samples in the horse (Equus caballus)
Behavioural observations suggest that smell is important in social discriminations between horses but balanced studies of this capacity are lacking. We used a habituation–discrimination procedure to investigate the ability of horses to distinguish between pairs of odour samples from different individuals. In Study 1, separate tests were conducted for urine, faeces or fleece fabric previously […]
Affiliation and Aggression As Related to Gender in Domestic Chicks (Gallus gallus)
Social discrimination in male and female domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) was investigated by using (1) latencies of approach response, (2) simultaneous free choice, and (3) intersubject aggressive-pecking tests. In approach-response tests, females showed shorter latencies when tested with cagemates than when tested with strangers, whereas males showed shorter latencies when tested with strangers than when […]
Disruptive effects of standard husbandry practice on laboratory rat social discrimination
Elements of husbandry procedures, such as handling, may disrupt rodent social behaviour. Such effects may be contingent upon the familiarity between individuals and upon the quality and quantity of the disruption. We investigated this issue using laboratory rats. We placed 36 rats into groups of three. At the point of group formation, and at 24 […]