Social influences of competition on impulsive choices in domestic chicks.

Social influences of competition on impulsive choices in domestic chicks Authors/Affiliations

Instantaneous and Cumulative Influences of Competition on Impulsive Choices in Domestic Chicks

This study examined instantaneous and cumulative effects of competitive interactions on impulsiveness in the inter-temporal choices in domestic chicks. Chicks were trained to peck colored beads to gain delayed food rewards (1 or 6 grains of millet delivered after a delay ranging between 0 and 4.5 s), and were tested in binary choices between a small-short delay option (SS) and a large-long dela...

Social Facilitation Revisited: Increase in Foraging Efforts and Synchronization of Running in Domestic Chicks

Social influences on foraging efforts were examined in domestic chicks by investigating the frequency of runs made to feeders and the amount of pecking to gain food. Single or paired chicks foraged in an I-shaped maze equipped with a millet feeder on each end, that distributed one or two grains at variable intervals. Regardless of when the grain(s) were dispensed, chicks ran back and forth betw...

Neuro-economics in chicks: foraging choices based on amount, delay and cost.

Studies on the foraging choices are reviewed, with an emphasis on the neural representations of elementary factors of food (i.e., amount, delay and consumption time) in the avian brain. Domestic chicks serve as an ideal animal model in this respect, as they quickly associate cue colors with subsequently supplied food rewards, and their choices are quantitatively linked with the rewards. When a ...

Influences of Maternal Care on Chicken Welfare

In domestic chickens, the provision of maternal care strongly influences the behavioural development of chicks. Mother hens play an important role in directing their chicks' behaviour and are able to buffer their chicks' response to stressors. Chicks imprint upon their mother, who is key in directing the chicks' behaviour and in allowing them to develop food preferences. Chicks reared by a moth...