1. Animal Behavior
and Chickens too!

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

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

8. 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

9. Patterns of Behavior

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

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

12. 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

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

14. 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

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

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