Animal Behavior and Chickens too!

Behavior The way an organism reacts to changes in its environment. Stimulus any signal that carries information Response is a reaction to a stimulus “Chickens are . . . complex behaviorally, do quite well in learning, show a rich social organization, and have a diverse repertoire of calls. Anyone who has kept barnyard chickens also recognizes their significant differences in personality.” - Dr. Bernard Rollin, Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University

Types of Behavior Innate - there is not any learning involved, animal does it instinctually, baby bird opens its beak to feed as soon as it is born Learned - behaviors that are developed over time through experience 4 types of learning; habituation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning and insight learning

Habituation Simplest type of learning (out of habit) Animal decreases or stops its response to a repeated stimulus that neither rewards or harms it Example - wild geese winter in a suburban lake and at first are easily disturbed by humans, over time they learn not to be fearful nor fly away

Classical Conditioning Animal makes a connection between a stimulus and a reward or punishment Pavlov - behavioral biologist (“Pavlov’s Dog”), rang a bell before he fed a dog, then rang the bell without feeding the dog which caused the dog to salivate as if it was going to be being fed

Operant Conditioning Animal learns to behave in a certain way through practice in order to receive a reward B.F. Skinner (Skinner Box) -Mouse learns to press a lever to get food

Insight Learning Most complicated - connecting information Applying something new to something already learned, math problems Common among humans and primates

Imprinting Involves innate and learned behavior Duckling follows the first moving thing it sees during a critical phase of development Cannot be changed once it occurs Occurs through scent (salmon returning to a stream) or sight

Patterns of Behavior

Behavioral Cycles Response due to periodic changes in the environment, daily or seasonal Migration, dormancy, hibernation Daily patterns are circadian rhythms

Courtship Reproductive strategy Individual sends out stimuli and another individual responds Stimuli; song, dance, chemicals, objects (Satin Bower Bird)

Social Behavior Interaction between members of the same species Formation of societies; ants, bees, primates Usually closely related in a society, help each other survive allows for passing on genes shared by all, preserving the gene pool

Competition and Aggression Prevents others from using limited resources Involves a specific territory Threatening behavior to preserve territory and resources

Communication Visual - changes in color, patterns Chemical - pheromones, mark territory, mating Sound - crickets, tree frogs, bird songs Language - humans only but if trained some animals such as dolphins, elephants, gorillas

Some Chicken Behaviors What About Chickens? Some Chicken Behaviors Preening Dust Bathing Flock Fighting Broodiness

Can You Teach a Chicken a New Trick? Extra Credit .....if accomplished!