Effects of age of chick on social transmission of pecking preferences from hen to chicks.
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.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development*; D005518:Food Preferences; D007173:Imprinting, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior / Q000502:physiology*