Sophisticated Fowl: The Complex Behaviour and Cognitive Skills of Chickens and Red Junglefowl

Garnham, Laura; Løvlie, Hanne

doi:10.3390/bs8010013

Cited by 45 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 144 publications

(237 reference statements)

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“…Personality traits, in general, have been shown to influence learning in wild as well as in domesticated animals ( Lansade and Simon, 2010 ; Guenther et al, 2014 ; de Haas et al, 2017a , b ; Zidar et al, 2017 ). Furthermore, those traits have been described in fowl ( Favati et al, 2015 ; Zidar et al, 2017 ; Dudde et al, 2018 ) and traits like sociality or fearfulness show some degree of heritability ( Jensen, 2006 ; Garnham and Løvlie, 2018 ). Fearful hens, for example, may be poorer learners than less-fearful conspecifics ( de Haas et al, 2017a , b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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More Than Eggs – Relationship Between Productivity and Learning in Laying Hens

et al. 2018

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The intense selection of chickens for production traits, such as egg laying, is thought to cause undesirable side effects and changes in behavior. Trade-offs resulting from energy expenditure in productivity may influence other traits: in order to sustain energetic costs for high egg production, energy expenditure may be redirected away from specific behavioral traits. For example, such energetic trade-offs may change the hens’ cognitive abilities. Therefore, we hypothesized highly productive laying hens to show reduced learning performance in comparison to moderate productive lines. We examined the learning ability of four chicken lines that differed in laying performance (200 versus 300 eggs/year) and phylogenetic origin (brown/white layer; respectively, within performance). In total 61 hens were tested in semi-automated Skinner boxes in a three-phase learning paradigm (initial learning, reversal learning, extinction). To measure the hens’ learning performance within each phase, we compared the number of active decisions needed to fulfill a learning criteria (80% correct choices for learning, 70% no responses at extinction) using linear models. Differences between the proportions of hens per line that reached criterion on each phase of the learning tasks were analyzed by using a Kaplan–Meier (KM) survival analysis. A greater proportion of high productive hens achieved the learning criteria on each phase compared to less productive hens (Chi23 = 8.25, p = 0.041). Furthermore, high productive hens accomplished the learning criteria after fewer active decisions in the initial phase (p = 0.012) and in extinction (p = 0.004) compared to the less selected lines. Phylogenetic origin was associated with differences in learning in extinction. Our results contradict our hypothesis and indicate that the selection for productivity traits has led to changes in learning behavior and the high productive laying hens possessed a better learning strategy compared to moderate productive hens in a feeding-rewarding context. This better performance may be a response to constraints resulting from high selection as it may enable these hens to efficiently acquire additional energy resources. Underlying mechanisms for this may be directly related to differences in neuronal structure or indirectly to foraging strategies and changes in personality traits such as fearfulness and sociality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chickens are known to possess a complex behavioral repertoire, including sophisticated cognitive abilities ( Krause et al, 2006 ; Nicol, 2015 ; Marino, 2017 ; Garnham and Løvlie, 2018 ). Like other animals, they use learning as a key mechanism to adapt to their physical and social environment ( Jensen, 2006 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More Than Eggs – Relationship Between Productivity and Learning in Laying Hens

et al. 2018

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“…To investigate how behaving in a more proactive manner, as well as aspects of cognition and affective state may influence the initiation and outcome of contests, we exposed sexually mature male and female red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) to a battery of behavioral assays (novel object-, novel arena-, tonic immobility-, and restrained intruder test) and cognitive tests (discriminative learning-, detour reaching-, and cognitive judgement bias tests) before staging intra-sexual contests between morphologically matched individuals. Red junglefowl live naturally in social groups of 2-15 individuals (reviewed in Garnham and Løvlie 2018), in which males and females form separate social hierarchies through intra-sexual contests (Banks 1956;Guhl 1968). Initiators of contests often win them (Ligon et al 1990;Favati et al 2014a), which result in higher social positions and increased access to resources (e.g., food, mating partners, Collias et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of personality, cognition, and affective state in same-sex contests in the red junglefowl

Garnham

Porthén

Child

et al. 2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Intra-species contests are common in the animal kingdom and can have fitness consequences. Most research on what predicts contest outcome focuses on morphology, although differences in personality and cognition may also be involved. Supporting this, more proactive individuals often have dominant status, although the causality of this relationship is rarely investigated. Contest initiators often win; thus, individuals that are more proactive in their personality (e.g., more aggressive, risk-taking) or cognition (e.g., more optimistic, impulsive) may initiate contests more often. To investigate this, we assayed the behavior and cognition of sexually mature male and female red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), a species in which both sexes contest over social status, before staging intra-sexual contests. We confirm that contest initiators were more likely to win. In males, individuals that behaved more boldly in a novel arena test were more likely to initiate and win contests. Female initiators tended to be less active in novel object test, more aggressive in a restrained opponent test, and respond less optimistically in a cognitive judgement bias test, whereas the main predictor of whether a female would win a contest was whether she initiated it. These results suggest that behaviors attributed to proactive and reactive personalities, and-at least for female red junglefowl-optimism, can affect contest initiation and outcome. Therefore, within species, and depending on sex, different aspects of behavior and cognition may independently affect contest initiation and outcome. The generality of these findings, and their fitness consequences, requires further investigation. Significance statement In red junglefowl, we explored how behavior previously shown to describe personality, cognition, and affective state affected initiation and outcome of intra-sexual contests, by staging contests between sexually mature individuals previously assayed in behavioral and cognitive tests. In both sexes, contest initiators usually won. Bolder males were more likely to initiate and win contests. Female contests initiators were less active, more aggressive, and less optimistic. Our results suggest that personality and cognition could affect the initiation and outcome of contests and that how this occurs may differ between sexes.

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“…[1,2]. It appears that birds' environmental needs may vary not only between species but also between breeds [3] and individuals of the same breed [4]. Previous investigations [3,5] have demonstrated that hens from three different breeds (green-legged partridge-Zk, Polbar-Pb, and Leghorn-Lg) kept in environments as identical as possible not only differed in the level of activity, emotional arousal, or degree of curiosity, but also preferred different enrichments of the environment, which collectively resulted in a different level of stress in the birds [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the behavioural patterns depend on the genetic background, previous bird's experiences, environmental conditions prevailing during embryonic development, and epigenetic effects [4,[6][7][8][9], a question was posed whether the differences observed in the behaviour of the three breeds (Zk, Lg, Pb) were innate breed-specific behavioural patterns or whether they were "generated" by their living environment. In other words, the question was whether the rearing practice, which was not adjusted to the genetic predisposition of the breed, was the cause of the behavioural differences or whether the breed-specific differences occurred regardless of the rearing practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural Variability in Chicks vs. the Pattern of Behaviour in Adult Hens

Rozempolska-Rucińska

Kasperek

Drabik

et al. 2020

Animals

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The aim of the study was to assess the behaviour of chicks of three different breeds of laying hens differing in the activity, emotional reactivity, and environmental preferences. Another objective was to answer the question whether the behavioural differences between adult birds would be evident already in the chick period or whether they are an effect of the further modifying impact of the environment. 60 green-legged partridge, 60 Polbar, and 60 Leghorn chicks were used in the experiments. The chicks hatched in a flock where hens were previously assessed with behavioural tests and the corticosterone levels in their feathers was determined, indicating significant differences in the temperament and stress level between the breeds. Five tests were carried out: two on competitiveness, activity, interest and fearfulness/curiosity. The experiments revealed considerable differences between the chicks. The Zk birds coped better with situations requiring swiftness and initiative. The Pb chicks were slower than Zk and Lg and did not make quick decisions. Hence, a lower number of these birds entering and leaving the test cage and staying inside was recorded. The Zk chicks exhibited a higher level of fearfulness than the other breeds. In terms of the environment enrichment elements, sand and woodchips were more attractive to the Zk chicks, whereas the Lg and Pb birds preferred pecking the string. No differences in the time of undertaking the analysed activities were found between the breeds.

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Sophisticated Fowl: The Complex Behaviour and Cognitive Skills of Chickens and Red Junglefowl

Cited by 45 publications

References 144 publications

More Than Eggs – Relationship Between Productivity and Learning in Laying Hens

More Than Eggs – Relationship Between Productivity and Learning in Laying Hens

The role of personality, cognition, and affective state in same-sex contests in the red junglefowl

Behavioural Variability in Chicks vs. the Pattern of Behaviour in Adult Hens

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