title: Responses of domestic chicks to novel food as a function of sex, strain and previous experience.
abstract: Food neophobia or a hesitancy to feed on unfamiliar food was examined in domestic chicks as a function of genetic and experiential factors associated with differential responsiveness to novelty. Chicks were presented with novel blue mash following a regime of food withdrawal and return. 'S' line chicks (light hybrid) fed significantly sooner, longer and more than did medium-hybrid 'T' line birds and females accepted novel food more readily than males. Food neophobia was significantly reduced by previous exposure to a variety of coloured foods and by enrichment of the home environment with assorted novel objects. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship between food neophobia, general responsiveness to novelty and underlying levels of fearfulness.
authors.affiliation: Agricultural and Food Research Council's Poultry Research Centre, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS, Scotland.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Jones