Exam 4 Flashcards
Why can eggs laid outside the nest be a significant problem in the poultry commercial industry?
- eggs laid outside of the nest can be a significant problem in the industry
- > nest box design is important
- > a dark secluded area is preferred
- > accessibility of the nest box is important
- -> birds need to be accustomed to the location and design of the box
Aggression in Laying Hens
- pecking at subordinate laying hens
- > head and comb scarring
- poor body condition
- biggest problem in mid-sized groups
- > small group birds have a stable dominance structure
- > large group birds have non-aggressive dominance strategies
- roosters will suppress aggression amongst hens
Poultry Egg-Laying Timing and Rhythm
- egg laying occurs at the time the lights go on
- egg formation occurs in the proceeding 24 hours before egg laying
- nest building precedes egg laying
Extraversion
- qualities, or traits of an “extrovert”
- > an extrovert is an outgoing overly expressive person
- increases opportunity
- increases risk
Poultry Dust-Bathing Timing and Rhythms
- occurs in the early afternoon
Recognition of Humans in Human-Animal Relationships
- individual recognition enables individual relationships
- they use CUES to differentiate humans
- > mainly visual cues when possible, but also smell and olfactory cues
- > best when using three senses concurrently
Factors that cause Feather Pecking and Cannibalism to occur
- Stocking Density
- Genetics
- Lighting
- Availability of foraging material
- Feed composition/form
- Group size
Offspring Care in Commercial Poultry Production
- Raised in Brooders
- provides:
- > warmth
- > chicks explore to learn to find food and water themselves
- > If they do not learn they may starve-out
Relationship Quality Factors with Human-Animal Interactions
- The Past History of human-animal interactions is the main determinant of an animal’s relationship with humans
- > the quality of contact
- > the quantity of contact
- > the period of life when the contact was made
- > animals will perceive an interaction as negative, neutral, or positive - The Genetic Background
- The Physical and Social Environment
- especially during rearing (raising) and interacting with humans - The Human Determines the Type, Timing and Environment of the interactions
- > human personality, attitude, knowledge, and experience will impact these interactions
Agreeableness
- quality of being pleasant, or enjoyable
- decreases conflict
- increases social cohesiveness
Poultry Natural feed sources
- Grasses
- Shrubs
- Seeds
- Roots
- Berries
- Leaves
- Invertebrates
- Small vertebrates
Human Personality
- “characteristics” of individuals accounting for consistency in their patterns of behaviors, feelings and cognition
Poultry Mating Timing and Rhythms
- the hen’s fertility is lowest at egg-laying
- mating generally occurs in the afternoon
Feather Pecking in Poultry
- abnormal behavior
- more common in mid-sized to large flocks
- feather pecking occurs in target areas such as vents, preen gland, wings, back, tail
- > generally not the head
- resemble feeding pecks, not aggressive pecks
- > reduce by providing foraging substance
Poultry Drinking Trends
- short bouts of drinking in between bouts of eating
- poultry drink by scooping up water with their beak, or bill and then raising their head to let the water flow down
- they can learn to drink from nipple waterers, but it is unnatural for birds to do so
- changing water delivery may cause production issues
Consequences of Animal Personality in Applied Ethology
- linked to personality types vary in proneness to stress and responses to novelty
1. Human-animal interactions
2. Animal welfare
3. Success of conservation programs
4. Production efficiency
5. Population consequences of hunting
Temperment
- aspects of behavior that are expected to emerge early in life
- has close ties to genetics
- generally includes emotional aspects such as fearfulness, anxiety and nervousness
- often used with domestic animals
Effect of light on poultry during egg incubation
- embryo becomes sensitive to light after 3 days in the egg
- stimulates pineal gland formation
- stimulates eye development and brain hemispheres
- In commercial operations hatches are incubated in total darkness
- > causes chicks to be more fearful after hatching
Domestic Duck Origins
- Mallard is their ancestor
- > gave rise to a large number of breeds
- some good layers
- most common breed is the Pekin from China
- > used for meat and feather (down) production
- domesticated 4000 years ago in Asia
- farmed by the Romans for meat
Behavioral Type
- consistent behavior across time, or situations
- typically used in descriptions with wild animals
Neutral Human-Animal Interactions
- decrease fear of humans
Research Terms in Animal Personality
- used to describe and explain “consistent individual behavioral differences”
1. Coping Style
2. Temperament
3. Behavioral syndrome and type
4. Animal Personality
Difference between Behavior and Personality
- Behavior is generally considered plastic (adaptable)
- personality seems to be more consistent in generating behavioral responses
Behavioral Syndrome
- suites of correlated behaviors across situations
- typically used in descriptions with wild animals
Physiological State
- if states change more slowly than behavior they can stabilize state-dependent behavior over the short term
ex: constrained behavioral plasticity, or the cost of switching behavior is too high - physiological states include body size, energy reserves, metabolic rate and age
Extraversion combined with Neuroticism Possibilities
- traits are not discrete
1. Low extraversion and High neuroticism - > associated with depression
2. High extraversion and Low neuroticism - > associated with being happy
Poultry Preening Timing and Rhythms
- occurs primarily in the morning and late afternoon
General Relationships in Human-Animal Relationships
- animals tend to generalize their experiences with familiar humans to unfamiliar humans
- > if they withdraw from their owner, then they will withdraw from an unfamiliar person
- > animals that are accepting of an owners touch will generally accept an unfamiliar person’s touch
- individual and general relationships may exist in parallel
- > unless the individual recognition type is precluded (prevented from happening)
Ducks Foraging behaviors
- filter out edible items by dabbling using their bills
Coping Style
- a lab rodent model was initiated to study human stress
- defined as a coherent set of behavioral and physiological stress responses which is consistent over time and which is characteristic to a certain group of individuals
- typically considered to be more discrete in variation
- > this is due to reactive and proactive responses that occur
Food Selection by Chickens
- have a well-developed sense of taste
- will reject foods that are acidic, bitter, or high in salt
- visual and tactile cues are important
- > adults teach chicks to peck at feed items of specific color and that are small and round
- Odor plays a role in food selection
- > they will associate odors with specific food types
Why is Poultry Body Maintenance Important
- important for birds to keep their feathers clean and in good condition
- > for protection
- > to maintain body temperature
Egg Incubation in Poultry
- parent-offspring interactions are absent in commercial production
- embryo’s vocalize to one another
- > accelerates the less developed chicks to develop quicker
- > it also synchronizes hatching
- maternal hormones in eggs
- > has an effect on brain development and sexual behavior
Sensitive Period of Socialization
- extremely important to later relationships with humans, or non-conspecifics
- the animal forms primary social relationships and attachments
- > wild animals attach themselves with conspecifics
- > domestic animals attach themselves to humans, conspecifics and non-conspecifics
ex: cross fostering of dogs and cats lead to a preference for the foster species for later positive social interactions
Poultry Social Problems
- Aggression
- Feather Pecking
- Cannibalism
Poultry social behavior characteristics
- there are pecking orders
- > male then females
- cluster together
- > even if they can spread out and in spite of aggression
- they move together as a flock
- synchronize behaviors due to:
- > circadian rhythms
- > social facilitation with birds copying one another’s behavior
Boldness
- reaction to non novel (new) risks
ex: potential danger
Neuroticism
- abnormally sensitive
- obsessive
- tense
- anxious
- increases depression
- increases unhappiness