Effects of age of chick on social transmission of pecking preferences from hen to chicks

Abstract

A "pecking" arrow releases and directs pecking by neonatal chicks. Distinctive stimuli placed on or near the tip of the moving arrow lead to pecking that is selectively directed to matching stimuli. A total of 3 min of exposure to such modeling conditions results in remarkable persistence of imitative behavior. Matching stimuli are preferentially pecked 3 days later after three intervening tests without modeling. In contrast to the sensitive period for filial imprinting within the first 3 days posthatch, age of chick at training has no permanent effect on the development of pecking preferences. If anything, filial imprinting interferes with released-directed pecking, suggesting that separate processes are involved.