Visual Pecking Preferences in Domestic Chicks .1. Responses of Different Breeds of Chicks to Different Sorts of Seeds

Martine Hausberger (1)

1 URA373 Laboratoire d'Ethologie [Ontogenèse et valeur adaptative des comportements]

It is well known that a newly hatched chick has basic visual preferences orienting its pecking behaviour. In this paper, these preferences are compared in domestic breeds and in feral chicks. Amongst a big variety of seeds offered, domestic chicks show a clear preference for round dark seeds (sorghum) and feral chicks fairly long pale seeds (wheat). These preferences are maintained 24 hrs. later in debeaked birds whereas there are big changes in non-debeaked domestic chicks. This has to be related with the ability of the debeaked chicks to swallow big seeds in the first test (reinforcing effect).

Domaines: Biologie animale; Psychologie et comportements

Martine Hausberger. Visual Pecking Preferences in Domestic Chicks .1. Responses of Different Breeds of Chicks to Different Sorts of Seeds. Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences. Série III, Sciences de la vie, 1992, 314 (6), pp.273--278. ⟨hal-01319167⟩