Maternal food calling in domestic hens: influence of feeding context.

The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between production of food calls by maternal hens and food context. In a series of experiments with broody hens, we manipulated quality of items, quantity of food, food experience and dispersion of food items. We measured the frequency of food calling during standardized tests. Our results show that all the variables tested had significant effects on food calling. These results present some similarities and some discrepancies with previous reports on food calling by cockerels.

Mothering influences the distribution of activity in young domestic chicks.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of a maternal hen influences the quality, quantity, and distribution of activity in young chicks. Brooded and nonbrooded chicks were observed during the entire light phase when they were 4 d of age. Our results revealed that although both brooded and nonbrooded chicks expressed the same behavioral items and in quite the same quantity, activity bouts were much longer in brooded chicks. However, only brooded chicks presented a high level of ultradian rhythmicity. Moreover, the brooded chicks made greater use of the space. The presence and the behavior of maternal hens appeared to provide structuring factors for the expression of the chicks behavior.